B & B
by SplendentGoddess
Summary: AU! I know, shocking right? In a modern world where youkai are still as despised as ever, Inuyasha is just trying to get by one day at a time. What happens when he meets an unusual Bed and Breakfast owner with spiritual powers and a compassionate heart?
1. No Room at the Inn

Blanket Disclaimer:

Inuyasha, and the characters therein, are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. I am in no way affiliated with Takahashi, or VIZ Productions.

* * *

Nominated for Best Inu/Kag Romance, IYFG, 1st Quarter 2011

Winner! 2nd Place for Best AU, IYFG, 1st Quarter 2011

Winner! 2nd Place for Best Inu/Kag Romance, Feudal Association, 1st Quarter 2011

A/N:

This story takes place in modern times, in what I envision would most likely be the scenario assuming the world of the past (with regard to youkai, not the Canon plot line) truly existed. Youkai and humans have not evolved side by side with humanoid youkai functioning as open and active members of human society without prejudice. Youkai are outside of the human order. They are _youkai_. Magical beings. They have no need of jobs, of money or of human-type housing. The humans all know that youkai are still around, though youkai attacks are much rarer than they used to be, as most of the lower, animal-type youkai have come to fear humans and their technological advancements. Hunters of various types are still around to fiercely defend their race, and the youkai know it. You still see the occasional humanoid youkai, unafraid of mankind in their perceived superiority, and they are treated with the same mentality of fear and/or mistrust as one would see in the past, which is a healthy fear for most humans to have considering that some of these youkai still view humans as nothing more than sheep, and they themselves as a wolf in the fold. There are no universal 'concealment charms', though that's not to say there aren't also youkai living among humans in disguise. It's simply every youkai for themselves. There is no 'grand council' of the youkai, but neither is there a grand council of humans in charge of monitoring all the youkai of the world. Take the universe as a whole of the world from the Sengoku jidai and put them in the 21st century and you pretty much have the universe I have created here.

So where does a universe like this leave _hanyou?_ Read and find out…

* * *

Chapter 1 – No Room at the Inn

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"I'm sorry…sir," the hotel clerk added as an afterthought, eyeing the man before him suspiciously, "but we are completely booked solid for the next several weeks."

"Yeah, sure…" the silver-haired man answered in a tired tone of voice. "Don't worry about it."

Consciously tugging the red wool cap he wore a little further down on his head, Inuyasha picked up his large backpack from where he'd sat it on the floor in front of the registration counter, before turning and heading back out the way he'd come. That was the third lodge to shoot him down in this crummy little tourist community. Gazing up at the waning crescent moon accenting the late evening sky, Inuyasha sighed before heading further up the road.

His exotic looks wouldn't be a problem back in Tokyo. He knew from experience that he could blend right in with all the 'modern' weirdos in the Shibuya District, but there were simply far too many humans in the bustling city for his taste, and he could never force himself to stay there for very long. Not to mention he wasn't made of money.

Finding shelter for the new moon never used to be such a hassle. Usually after wrestling himself up some freelance work of one kind or another, he'd have a place to stay for at least a month or two, until whoever had decided to take him in later decided that he'd worn out his welcome. It wasn't easy being a two hundred year old hanyou in the 21st century.

Back in his prime, during the closing decades of the Edo period, finding ways to sustain himself after his mother's death hadn't been a problem. The people of his hometown had known what he was, and though they had run him out of town upon his elderly mother's passing, he hadn't been without a fallback plan. He had immediately sought out the taijiya. His mother had always told him stories of the people who lived in the mountains and kept the valleys safe from monsters. They did not kill all youkai, only the evil ones, and being able to tell the difference, his mother had told him that someone of his unique talents would be openly welcomed among them.

She had been telling the truth.

For several years Inuyasha had lived with the headman's family, fighting alongside a pair of siblings named Sango and Kohaku. He had grown so close to them that he had even shared with them the secret of the new moon, a secret they had helped him guard with their lives. Over the years he'd stayed with them he had even befriended some of the spiritualists that assisted the taijiya at times. A monk by the name of Miroku became his best friend, and he'd even fallen in love with a miko named Kikyou. She had fallen for him in return, and there had even been talk of her giving up her life as a miko to become his wife. Of course, things changed, as they often did, and one day the shogunate had made its presence known in the taijiya village. They had demanded a more thorough cleansing of youkai blood from _their _country, and were appalled to learn that the slayers had been 'harboring' an abomination such as himself. Never mind that he had been one of the most successful of all the youkai slayers.

The taijiya had been ordered to 'deal' with him, or else, and while Sango, Kohaku and Miroku had been quick to come to his defense, others had been equally as quick to ostracize him, wishing to save their own hides. Looking back on it, he couldn't really say that he blamed them; self-preservation was a deeply imbedded instinct, after all. If anyone understood that concept, it would be him. Mutiny against the headman's family would have been inevitable, and so he had left before it could become an issue, not wishing to see any of his second family fall into ruin because of him, and he had been a nomad ever since. After having learned the hard way that his presence was ultimately a burden to those he cared about, he'd made it a point of never staying in one place long enough to develop feelings for anyone else ever again, be they feelings of friendship, or something more. Besides, it was kind of hard to open up and grow close to someone when he constantly had to hide what he _was_. That was no way to make friends.

And what of the woman who was to be his wife?

When push came to shove, Kikyou had proven that her duty as a miko was more important to her than her own heart. He had wanted her to come with him, had _begged _her to come with him, but the shogunate had put the fear of the gods in her, and so instead of even parting on decent terms, she had told him how she couldn't believe what she had been thinking. That she would _never _want to 'settle' with a _half-breed _such as himself. He had seen the lie behind her words, had smelt the salt of her tears, and had suspected that someone was watching. Still, it'd hurt, but when you loved someone you had to set them free. She had done that, in her own way, since he would have been hunted down had he not fled their village right when he had. So he'd returned the favor, letting her go without a backward glance.

Over the immediate years that followed, Inuyasha had continued to pick up work as a freelance youkai slayer fairly easily, sticking to the smaller towns, the superstitious villages. The smaller crowds suited him just fine, and it was truly the smaller communities that suffered the most from lingering youkai attacks, anyway, since most youkai tended to avoid large clusters of humans, fearing their rapid advances in technology. But he didn't need the taijiya's fancy tricks for luring youkai scum out of their hiding places when he could hunt the creatures down like a bloodhound. There were times when he still let people know of his own youkai heritage, either by accident or necessity, if a swipe of his claws was what was needed to save a villager's life in the heat of the moment, and he wasn't always hated for it. Sometimes he was called an inugami, and other times he was called a yama-inu, and while he always moved on once the local humans discovered what he was, or rather, what they _thought _he was, he always left those communities with some pep in his step, pleased that those particular humans had accepted him in their own little way. Then there were the times, as rare as they were, when he was called an _oni_, when somebody recognized that he wasn't human while he was just trying to get by and hadn't immediately done anything heroic to stave off their hatred of him, and he would suddenly find himself on the receiving end of a youkai-slaying at those times. Though he always emerged victorious, fleeing in most cases without causing his human attackers any harm whatsoever, whenever he _was_ forced to fight back, he only did so to the point of incapacitation, before then taking his leave. He never killed humans. He didn't hate humans at all, but neither could he truly live among them, even if he wanted to. The cities had built up around him when he wasn't looking, and now, he felt like a relic trapped in a past that no longer existed. He couldn't get a job; he couldn't rent an apartment. It was a vicious cycle because in order to get a job, one of the main requirements was having a permanent address and phone number, which he didn't have, and couldn't acquire, because he didn't have a job. But even if he had a steady flow of money from his freelance work, which he didn't, he also didn't have any 'papers', and an ID would be required for renting an apartment, as well. According to the modern-day hall of records, he didn't even exist, and it wasn't exactly like he could go down and get his picture taken for an ID card looking the way he did.

If a large-scale number of humans ever found out what he was, like in the middle of an office building somewhere as he attempted to file paperwork on himself, it would most likely cause panic and chaos. He still remembered hearing all the craze from when a little boy's body had been found drained by a kappa near a lake, and instead of posting more signs warning people not to go into the water, or perhaps putting up a _fence_, forces had been brought in to deal with the kappa directly, like it was really _their _fault the stupid child had gotten too close to their habitat. But in the case of him trying to get an ID, it would definitely be _him _invading the _humans' _domain, and he wasn't stupid enough to tempt fate. He knew what would happen. In this day and age, if people discovered what he was, especially while doing something like _that_, the police would be called, and then the taijiya, and if they didn't kill him outright, he would at least surely find himself locked away in a cage for the rest of his life. Sure, the taijiya's job in that century was truly nothing more than glorified pest-control, but as far as society was concerned he _was _a pest, and the worst possible kind, too, being humanoid and able to slip in under the radar.

Youkai could not legally join human society, and since he wasn't a kitsune, tanuki or mujina, he really stood no chance of successfully doing so in secret. But neither could he truly live among the youkai. Never mind the fact that there weren't all that many youkai left in the world, or that the vast majority of humanoid ones still living in the physical plane were pretending to be humans, themselves, but even despite that there was still no love for hanyou among youkai kind. Especially now, with their numbers so few and far between, breeding with the humans was expressly forbidden within most youkai families. You were more likely to see two different species of youkai interbreeding than willfully diluting their gene pool with _human_ blood, and it was thanks to that same human blood flowing through his own veins that he was stuck on Earth in the first place, unable to transform himself into wisps of energy to flutter away to wherever it was all the rest of the youkai had gone to. And so he wandered, keeping to the smaller towns, or what was left of them, looking for odd jobs from older people still willing to pay a 'youth' under the table. Despite being over twice as old as the oldest living human, he still appeared to be in his early twenties, and he took advantage of his appearance to the best of his ability. It was about time his looks worked in his _favor_, for once. Instead of immediately believing him to be youkai, thanks to the popular trends of the 21st century, most elderly people initially thought he was just a runaway; a punk-rock wannabe who had bleached his hair and wore funny contact lenses, and that was all right with him. He even dressed the part, sporting baggy dark blue jeans and a red t-shirt with some random rock band's insignia in black, the fire-rat robes from his youth tucked securely away in his backpack. He could usually find work without too much difficulty, so long as he avoided flashing his claws or fangs. There was always an old fishing boat in need of repair, or a roof in need of patching. Even though he never went to school, he knew how to read and write and do numbers, and while he didn't know how to use newer technology like a computer, he knew his way around a manual set of tools. Extermination was still his specialty, be it youkai or your a-typical rodents, because he loved the feel of the hunt, but when it really boiled down to it, _any _job was hunting, in a sense, because it was truly the money he was after.

He usually managed to pull it off, somehow or another, finding shelter for himself during the night of the new moon. A few scary times he had failed in his task, and too afraid to stay out in the wilderness where the invisible youkai of the world might suddenly decide to show themselves, jumping at their chance to rid the world of one more hanyou, he had fled to the cities he despised on those nights, knowing there was safety in numbers as he wandered the busy streets until dawn. If he couldn't find a hotel willing to take him in this time around, he might be forced to do it again. Sighing as he hoisted his backpack a little further up his shoulder, Inuyasha reached down to grasp the hilt of the sword at his hip, finding comfort in the family heirloom. He hadn't needed to use Tetsusaiga in battle in over a century, but Tetsusaiga was a part of him, and where he went, it went. Still, it might not be a bad idea to hide the sword for just a few minutes prior to attempting check-in at the next hotel. Like getting rid of the sword would really help when he had white hair, yellow eyes, claws and fangs.

_I'm sorry sir, we're booked solid_…he mocked in his head as the next place came within view. Perhaps he should've stayed closer to the big cities, after all. While the room would be more expensive, at least the hotel clerks wouldn't look at him quite so funny. In this day and age, in the big cities, the hotels were used to seeing people of every shape and size, color and race. Simple tourists from overseas could have been mistaken for youkai back in the days of his youth, and now in this day and age, the suspicion was reversed. You didn't dare accuse somebody of being a youkai if you weren't 100% certain they were one; for people who could not sense youki it was much safer and more politically correct to just assume they were foreign. But despite the easier acceptance in the big cities of his white hair, which from afar was easily his most obvious difference from the norm, he'd never felt very at ease in such a setting, especially when the occasional human giving him the evil eye was truly a youkai in disguise, themselves, glaring at him as if his very presence was a threat to them all. So he always preferred sticking to the more rural areas. It was much easier to find free-lance work from people who were a tad on the rural side, themselves. The cities involved too many computers, too much paperwork. He couldn't even get a private job as somebody's gardener without them wanting to run a background check. Though, on the other side of the coin, it was much safer for a homeless person in the big cities than it was out in the middle of the forest, and in three nights' time that's precisely what he'd be, a homeless person no different from any other human bum, instead of the half-man half-beast he usually was who prided himself on being one with nature. He needed to find himself some shelter, and pronto.

Worst-case scenario, he would head for Morioka. It was a small city, but it had a major train station. He could hop a ride on the Komachi – literally – and be back in Tokyo in less than three hours. Anything to avoid spending his human night out in the woods; he loved living among the trees, but only when he had his youkai powers to back him up. Still, he could give it a couple more days. He really didn't want to head back into the city unless he _had _to. It was so beautiful where he currently was, in the northern region of Honshu. He wasn't sure where he was, exactly, as far as the name of the low scale, off-season skiing community he was presently wandering through, but all he needed to know was that it felt like _home_, like how Japan _used _to be all over before the humans paved paradise to put up a parking lot. The trees of the forest called out to him, the mountain beating in time with his heart as if he really _was _a yama-inu. He would stick it out where he currently was. He wasn't ready to give up on the area just yet. Somebody would rent him a room; he could feel it in his blood. There was no _way _these ski lodges were all sold out in the middle of summer, weekend or no.

**o0o**

The woman behind the counter wasn't what he'd been expecting, as she silently shuddered in fear, pretending to read the monitor in front of her as she attempted to tell him there were no available rooms for the night.

"G-gomen…ano…" she stuttered helplessly. "I-it appears we do n-not have any available rooms."

Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha wiped a clawed hand down over his face in exasperation.

_Fucking great, I get the clerk who's daddy told her scary stories about avoiding the big, bad youkai when she was a kid…I'll have to be on my toes in case security shows up_.

Just because the woman's obvious agitation had him on edge didn't mean he was going to show it, however. He'd been in situations like this before, the person in front of him having a working set of eyes, realizing what he was and trying to have him detained. If she tried to cause any trouble for him he'd be long gone before any authorities showed up.

"Look, _Yumi_…" he began, reading the girl's nametag. "I ain't gonna hurt ya, or no one else at this 'fine establishment'. I really do need a room for the next three nights, and I've got the money to pay for it."

Gulping nervously, the girl behind the counter – she really was nothing more than a girl – turned to glance over her shoulder at the security camera in the corner.

_Crap_…

Was she signaling somebody? Or was somebody already speaking to her, telling her on her computer screen to stall him?

He was just about to turn and bolt for the door when she smiled at him, almost apologetically, the stench of her fear dying down just a little bit.

"O-okay…well, so long as you plan on remaining in your room-"

"I'll lock myself behind that door until check-out." he interrupted, confirming he wouldn't fight her on the issue.

"I just need to swipe your credit card." she said next.

_Fuck! _

Where was a drunken partier he could pay off to rent a room for him when he needed one?

"But I'm paying cash." he tried, hoping...

Her apologetic look appeared even more genuine as she told him, "I'm sorry, sir, but a credit card with valid picture ID is required to process all guest check-ins. It's just how the computer works."

"Stupid 21st century…" he muttered under his breath, not caring if the girl behind the counter heard him or not. And she had been willing to give him a room, too!

"Is there such a thing as a traditional inn any more?" he asked her then, not caring if the question somewhat gave away his age. "Some place without computers, without the need for credit cards?"

"Umm…" she replied with a troubled expression, not sure if she was about to regret what she told the man who was clearly a youkai standing before her. Still, even though she had been frightened by his appearance, at first, she had been raised to not judge people by their looks. While she had no idea why a youkai would want or need to rent a hotel room for the weekend, surely such an elaborate scheme would not be required if his plan was merely to devour their other guests. Perhaps he had the intention of sharing his room with a female caller? That was truly none of her business, though it would at least mean he was telling the truth when he said he was not going to hurt anybody, herself included.

"There is a pseudo-traditional Western style Bed and Breakfast about five kilometers north of here, I could give you the directions." she offered then. "I know about this place, and the woman who runs it is really nice. While Higurashi-san does use modern technology, like a computer, running a business out of her home allows her to be more flexible with what she chooses to do, and there's no way she'd be booked this time of year."

Inuyasha truly appreciated the girl's information, offering her a sincere smile as she took a moment to scribble out a quick map for him. Catching sight of his fangs made her nervous again and he immediately dropped his smile, accepting the paper with a brief nod. After heading back outside, he took a quick moment to collect Tetsusaiga from where he'd stashed it up on the lodge's roof, and then leapt off the building, following Yumi's directions. A small, privately run establishment like a Bed and Breakfast sounded perfect for him. Hopefully, he'd be the only guest there.

_Let's just hope this 'Higurashi Kagome' woman doesn't mind sharing her home with a youkai_.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"How about now?"

"Nope."

"_Now?"_

"Still nothing."

Sighing, Kagome tilted the satellite dish a little more to the right. "What about now?"

"It still says 'cannot establish signal.'" came the reply from down below.

"Damn it…"

"Language."

Rolling her eyes, Kagome slumped back on her rear, rubbing her hand down across her face. "This is all your fault, you know." she spoke quietly, knowing the boy in the house below her would hear her words. Movement caught the woman's attention and she turned her gaze to see a pink balloon rising up within view over the edge of her roof. Said balloon then disappeared in a puff of smoke to reveal a small boy standing on her roof next to the satellite dish.

"I'm really sorry, Kagome." Shippou apologized sincerely. He hadn't meant to hit the TV dish with his baseball, knocking it completely out of whack.

"It's okay." Kagome told him. "I'm just glad you didn't break a window. I've told you before, no baseball so close to the house. If you and your friends are going to play games like that, you need to do it deeper into the woods."

"But then the ball will bounce off a tree!" the kitsune protested, though the glare Kagome sent his way quickly had him closing his mouth.

"Get back to your station." she said in a no-nonsense tone, which quickly had him scampering back down off the roof to stare at the blue words floating across the black TV screen.

Pulling herself to her feet, Kagome inched her way back to the dish, yanking it back another good three inches.

"How about now?"

**o0o**

Humming to herself as she washed her bowl from dinner, Kagome shook her head in amusement as her thoughts traveled back to the kitsune boy and his friends. She would never forget the day she'd first discovered that a large group of kitsune lived in the woods not too far from the Yukiyama Inn. The establishment had still belonged to her grandmother Kaede at that time. It was shortly after she had moved in, and while exploring the surrounding woods she had fallen victim to one of Shippou's pranks, the boy having disguised himself as a terrible oni who'd then proceeded to corner Kagome in a thick patch of trees. Frantically reaching for an ofuda, which she always carried on her person whenever exploring out in the woods, Kagome had been terrified for her life, only to suddenly find herself stunned speechless when the horrible monster before her had turned into a small boy, crying and pleading with her not to kill him. Quickly tucking the purifying ofuda back into her pocket, Kagome had knelt before the young fox, attempting to sooth his cries while promising that she wouldn't hurt him. She had then scolded him that it wasn't a very nice prank, pretending to be a terrifying monster, getting him to understand that she had feared him just as he had feared her ofuda. Sniffling, he had apologized for frightening her so badly, and had asked her if she would be his friend.

Over the months that followed, Kagome had continued to venture out into the woods beside her home, meeting with Shippou on occasion, who eventually took her back to meet his father and some of his fox friends. They were the guardians of that particular patch of forest, and they were very happy to have Kagome in the neighborhood. Shippou was quick to consider her an adopted mother of sorts, though that was perfectly all right with Kagome.

Smiling to herself, the young miko mused over how quickly things could change.

It had always been her grandmother's dream for retirement to own and operate a friendly little B & B tucked snugly away in the mountains, and so when the opportunity had actually presented itself to purchase the perfect old house in the perfect location near a small ski resort up north, Kaede had immediately jumped at the chance. Kagome didn't know much about the building's history, except that it had once belonged to a wealthy couple that had used the place as a vacation home. Nothing bad had happened to them, the elderly couple had simply passed on from old age, and so there weren't any nasty ghosts to worry about. The building had eventually been reclaimed by the town and auctioned off, so Kaede had gotten the place for an incredible deal. Kagome remembered staying with her grandmother for a week during summer vacation the first year after she'd gotten the establishment remodeled and open for business, and even back then the then fifteen-year-old had fallen in love with the place. Kagome had had a vision about living there and running it herself one day.

If only she had known that her fantasy had actually been a premonition of disaster. She often times wondered if she would have been able to save her family if she had more properly foreseen what horrors had been awaiting them.

Kagome's mother, brother and grandfather had all been killed in a terrible car accident. A car accident that she herself had also been a part of, though miraculously, her life had been spared. Why the kami had decided it wasn't yet her time she couldn't be sure, but Kagome had spent the better part of a year learning not to blame herself for her family's deaths. She hadn't been the one driving, after all, so there was truly no way she could logically twist the blame to rest upon her own shoulders. She'd had to learn to stop feeling guilty for having survived.

Since her father had passed away a few years earlier, Kagome, at the age of seventeen, had moved in with her grandmother from her mother's side, Kaede, in her Bed and Breakfast up north. The shrine that had been in her father's line for generations still belonged to the Higurashi family, but since Kagome had not been able to live by herself as a minor, and Kaede had had her own business to run on the other side of the island, the place had been rented out to shrine keepers while Kagome left the only life she'd ever known to go live in the place that had captured her heart two years prior.

After graduating from high school, Kagome had opted not to go to university, not having earned high enough grades to qualify for a scholarship thanks to the amount of school she'd missed during the transition, and also not wanting to burden herself or her grandmother with the debt of school loans. Picking up a job as a waitress in a small restaurant within bicycle distance to her grandmother's home, Kagome had done her best to help with what she'd from then on considered to be the family business. She never forgot about her roots at the Higurashi shrine, and she had packed with her many mementos of her family, including her grandfather's old scrolls about youkai and spiritual magics, but becoming a shrine miko was simply no longer in the stars for her. She wondered if it had ever been.

For five years Kagome lived with her grandmother, doing her best to help with expenses with her waitressing job since her presence meant that the inn was down one available room for guests. If she was a burden in any way to her grandmother, Kaede never showed it, though Kagome always tried her best to make up for it, anyway, assisting the elderly woman with things like cleaning and gardening when she wasn't working. Kaede had definitely appreciated having a second set of hands around the inn, though she had been perfectly capable of doing things for herself, at least at first, until one day when she suddenly, without warning, began feeling weaker and weaker. Knowing in her heart that she wouldn't be around for much longer, Kaede had made sure that Kagome would be able to take care of herself once she was gone, teaching her granddaughter all that there was to know about running her own business. The B & B was paid for, aside from the normal monthly bills one could not avoid, so if Kagome budgeted her money properly and ran her business wisely, she would be able to maintain her self-reliance indefinitely.

When Kaede had passed away, with Kagome at the age of twenty-two, the young woman had been saddened to lose the last living member of her family, but she had not let it get her down. The Higurashi Shrine back in Tokyo was still doing well with its shrine keepers, she checked in on them at least once a month, and so it was that she decided to stay up north in the Bed and Breakfast, determined that _both _of her family traditions would remain alive and well. It hadn't mattered to her that the B & B hadn't been in her family for generation upon generation. It had been her grandmother's dream come true, and for the last five years, it had been her home.

That had been three years ago, and the now twenty-five-year-old had been running the place by herself ever since.

_So far so good_… Kagome mused.

It helped that she had a large garden off to the side of the property where she grew most of her food during the spring and summer. What she didn't use she sold to a local market that bought farm fresh produce, sometimes even trading with the market for other grocery items she needed. It was like experiencing just a little bit of what life had been like in the past, trading goods. Many things she dried or pickled so that she would have them year round, so even though she did have to buy more grocery items during the winter, she was pretty thrifty with her spending.

Putting her bowl back in the cupboard, the miko headed out of the kitchen, smiling to herself as she passed the television in the living room before heading down the hall to her bedroom. It had taken almost an hour, but she and Shippou had finally managed to find that magic sweet spot that enabled her TV satellite to locate its provider's signal. Sure, she could have just called somebody out, but she didn't have the kind of money to waste on unnecessary tech-support calls. She could barely afford the TV bill as it was, though she stood by the decision of having separate receivers for each bedroom; she knew how guests would appreciate the ability to watch TV in their rooms as they settled down for the evening. Besides, living by herself, she would go crazy without TV. While the Yukiyama Inn was usually booked solid during the winter and going into early spring when the sakura trees started to bloom, summer was definitely her slow season, and so more often than not Kagome found herself spending her days _by _herself. She no longer had her part-time job as a waitress, unable to predict when she might have a guest and always needing to remain available at the inn whenever she did, but she made enough money during season to last her the rest of the year, so long as she stuck to her budget.

Opening her hall closet to take out the broom, Kagome was pulled from her thoughts when a tingling sensation traveled through her, strong youki energy vibrating against her aura. Something, or rather some_one _had just passed through her barrier.

_That aura is far too powerful to be one of the kitsune_… she thought, putting her broom back away before heading for the front door.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Standing at the edge of the tree line, Inuyasha blinked slowly at the sight before him. The place looked rather inviting, were he to be honest. A large, fairly modern-looking yet clearly traditional Japanese-styled home was sitting nestled up against the incline of the mountain summit, with a large vegetable garden off to the side. An artfully crafted, hand-painted sign was hung from a torii-like gate over the walkway, reading "Snow Mountain Inn" in English below the Kanji for the same, obviously with the intention of appealing to the occasional Westerner.

_How the hell can she make any money out here in the middle of nowhere? The place doesn't even have an onsen! _

Thinking back on the hustle and bustle atmosphere of the ski lodges that had rejected him, apparently being booked solid even during August…he snorted at the thought…Inuyasha figured that a smaller setting like a B & B probably had an appeal all its own, for a different kind of vacationer. It didn't have to be ski mountain adjacent to attract the winter crowds, after all. Maybe some people liked getting away but didn't want to lose that 'at home' feeling.

Noticing the rows of green sakura trees that lined either side of the walkway as he approached the property, the hanyou imagined that the place was probably very pretty during blossom season, too, not that it wasn't pretty now. Still, he was sure the inn probably made all its money during the winter, and that Higurashi horded her profits away to live off of bit by bit throughout the rest of the year. Though of course, there was always the occasional off-season client, like…himself.

Passing through the gateway, Inuyasha paused for a moment, feeling a light tingling sensation against his skin.

_What the hell was that? _

It felt like spiritualist magic, though not like anything he had ever felt before. For some reason, it didn't feel threatening, which seemed contradictive since spiritualist magic was by nature a threat to anything demonic. After double-checking that he was still in one piece, he shrugged it off and headed for the door. He would have knocked – this was a woman's home, after all – but a little sign hanging on the door said "Please come in" and so he did, opening the door to reveal a traditional genkan where he slipped off his zori sandals in exchange for house slippers before passing into the rest of the house. What he saw took his breath away.

A beautiful combination of 'East meets West' greeted his eyes, as he took in the homey décor featuring American-styled furnishings resting upon the tatami-covered flooring. The place both looked and smelled like a _home_, and that was a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time. It also smelled of kitsune, but so did the entire surrounding forest area, and so he supposed that some of them must have posed as humans at the inn from time to time for whatever purpose. Kitsune were usually harmless, so their presence didn't bother him.

"Good evening." a friendly voice greeted him suddenly, snapping him back into reality as he turned to register the appearance of a young, barefoot woman in a yellow blouse and pale blue denim just rising up from her polite bow. He quickly bowed in return.

"How may I help you?" Kagome asked next, taking a moment to truly take in the sight before her.

The young man appeared to be in his early twenties, though she knew with youkai that you could never really tell their age based on appearances. He had long silver-white hair tied back in a low ponytail against the nap of his neck, and a red wool cap pulled down over the top of his head. A matching red t-shirt and loose dark blue jeans completed the look, with a large black backpack slung over one shoulder, and a sheathed katana hanging from his belt that looked totally out of place with such an outfit. Still, where else would he keep it?

Of course, Inuyasha noticed her eyes focusing on his sword and immediately swore mentally for having forgotten about ditching it so as not to add any more fright to his appearance than necessary. Oh well, too late now. Fortunately, Kagome actually appreciated the fact that he wasn't trying to conceal his weapon, though he didn't know that. Nervously, he cleared his throat.

"Are you Higurashi-san?" he asked as politely as possible, to which she nodded.

"I, uh…I need a room for a few nights, and a girl at the lodge five kilometers south from here recommended you."

Kagome furrowed her brow at that. Why wouldn't he have just stayed at the lodge, if he were already there? Then again…all things considered…

"Okay, well, I don't have any other guests at this time, so I can definitely accommodate you." she answered, sensing no malice from the man. "How will you be paying?"

"Cash."

_Well that answers one question right there, probably doesn't have an ID or credit card, which would be required at a real hotel_.

"Cash works." Kagome stated before walking with him over to where she'd set up her check-in station in the living room. Establishing that he wanted a room for three nights, Kagome told him the rate and he then proceeded to retrieve his money from his pocket, which she accepted from him without so much as a double-take at his claws.

_What gives? _Inuyasha pondered, feeling like he was missing something important. It was almost too good to be true that this woman seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that he was a youkai.

"Name?" Kagome asked him then, fingers poised over the keyboard of her notebook, ready to log in record of her guest.

He hesitated, a worried look in his eyes that did not go unnoticed by his hostess. Then before he could think of something common enough to reply with, the woman before him put her hands at her sides with an understanding smile and said, "That's all right, never mind."

"Inuyasha." he blurted suddenly, his eyes widening in surprise at himself. He _never _told anyone his _real_ name any more! That was suicide, considering his name meant 'dog spirit'.

Kagome just continued to smile at him, and didn't bother reaching for the laptop on the table.

"It's nice to meet you, Inuyasha-san. You may call me Kagome-san."

He grimaced a bit at that, his face comical to the woman before him as he muttered, "Uh, just 'Inuyasha' is fine, you can leave off the suffix. I've never been one for all that 'title' nonsense."

Musing over his request, which could be considered either especially rude or especially personal, Kagome smiled brighter and decided in that moment that she didn't really care much for suffixes, either.

"Well in that case, then I insist you not use any suffixes with me, either. We will be on equal terms while you are in my home, Inuyasha."

He blinked at her, truly surprised.

Kagome then proceeded to give him the 'grand tour', and it didn't take him long at all to fall into step behind her as she first showed him the eat-in kitchen, where she said he was free to get himself a drink or a snack whenever he wanted, though she would be preparing his main meals for him as part of the service. On the other side of the kitchen was the main washroom, complete with washer and dryer for his clothes. Besides the toilet, there was also a separate tub and shower, the tub big enough to lie down in while the showerhead could be clipped to the wall. Kaede's upgrades had been made with the occasional Western tourist in mind, as well. Exiting back through the kitchen and heading through the living room and down the hall, Kagome showed him the three available guest rooms, allowing him to pick whichever one he wanted since she was fully vacant at the moment. She also pointed out which door led to her own bedroom, in case he needed anything, and which door led to the secondary toilet, in case the washroom was occupied.

Finally, after twenty minutes of being shown through the house, Inuyasha just couldn't take it any more.

"Doesn't it worry you, being out here in the middle of nowhere all by yourself?" he asked, realizing he was tempting fate though he just couldn't help his curiosity. "Aren't you nervous about a youkai attack, living right next to the forest?"

Surprisingly enough, Kagome just smiled at him again, and the expression was so genuine, he found the girl's demeanor sending calming waves through his entire being.

"No, I'm not worried about a youkai attack. I have the property warded."

He snorted before he could stop himself, causing Kagome to tilt her head in amused curiosity.

"Are you thinking that my wards don't work, because you were able to get through?" she asked knowingly.

That shut him up, as he snapped his mouth closed to stare at her with a calculating gaze. She raised her hands in a peaceful gesture.

"Relax Inuyasha…" she stated calmly. "I do not fear you, and you have no reason to fear me. My wards are not designed to keep out all youkai, only the malicious ones. I have designed my seals to react to jyaki, instead of youki, so peaceful youkai such as yourself are welcome here. In fact, there's a group of kitsune that live out in the woods not too far from here, and sometimes some of the boys come here to play." she informed him, explaining the scent of fox he had picked up earlier.

"You're a miko…" he stated in wonder, realizing it all made perfect sense now. It'd just been so long since he'd been around one that he'd forgotten what a miko's aura felt like, though now that he knew what to look for he felt embarrassed for not having recognized it sooner.

"I was going to be." she answered quietly, pulling him from his thoughts when a slight tinge of melancholy invaded her scent, though she shook herself free from such emotions before he could think to question her on it.

"Well, then…" she stated suddenly, clapping her hands together. "I've already eaten, but if you're hungry I can fix you something for dinner. Just say the word."

"You don't have to go through the trouble if you've already cooked once this evening." he answered her, even as his stomach proceeded to argue with him, growling loud enough for her to hear.

Giggling behind her hand, Kagome shooed Inuyasha into his chosen room so that he could start getting himself settled, while she told him she'd have a quick dinner ready for him in five minutes.

Back in the kitchen, as she put some ramen noodles on to boil, the twenty-five-year-old couldn't help but think how her life had just gotten much more interesting, at least for the next three days.

**o0o**

Slurping his noodles greedily, Inuyasha couldn't quite wrap his mind around the puzzle that was Kagome. A young woman, with spiritual powers, living all by herself and running a Bed and Breakfast out of her home, tucked away in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. It almost seemed like something about of a fairytale, and here he was, a creature of legend himself, showing up on her doorstep seemingly out of nowhere. He was still a little shaken up by the fact that she knew what he was, more or less. He was sure she didn't suspect that he was actually a hanyou, but she knew he was of youkai origin, apparently from the instant he'd stepped foot through her barrier, and that fact didn't bother her. _That _fact had him feeling a bizarre combination of suspicion and relief. While he would like to believe that he had hit the jackpot, finally finding himself a place where he could be himself for at least a couple of days, he knew he couldn't let his guard down so easily. Usually, he was used to being on his toes while staying in somebody's home so as to make sure nobody suspected what he was. Whenever they began to suspect, it was shortly after his host's discovery that he was usually not so politely asked to leave. Since Kagome already knew what he was, _and _he was a paying customer, it seemed like that worry had been taken away, but that only meant that he had a whole _new_ reason to stay on his toes. While he truly doubted that she was going to make a phone call and turn him in while he slept, especially after her comment of befriending the local kitsune, Inuyasha knew it would just be plain foolish of him to not remain on alert for a little while longer, just in case. For all he knew, Yumi had given Kagome a head's up, sending up a red flag about a youkai trying to pose as a human, and the miko's immediate show of acceptance toward him was designed for him to let his guard down. While he would love to be wrong, while he would love for it to turn out that Kagome was somehow merely just some girl with spiritual powers who didn't have anything against 'friendly' youkai, only time would tell.

Because it was so late, after serving him his ramen Kagome had bid him goodnight before excusing herself for the evening. She had apologized for the simplistic dinner, but he had assured her, with all sincerity, that the noodles were delicious. Sitting by himself at the high, Western-style kitchen table, Inuyasha found himself wondering what Kagome's story _really_ was.


	2. Owner of a Lonely Heart

Chapter 2 – Owner of a Lonely Heart

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The following morning, Inuyasha was awakened by the most wonderful smell to have ever drifted past his nose.

_She has coffee, oh thank kami_…

Lying in bed for a while longer, he realized he could hear the sounds of breakfast preparation taking place in the kitchen, and nervously wondered how the young woman had managed to walk past his room without her footsteps waking him up. Then again, his bed was exceptionally comfortable, and despite his lingering paranoia, there was undeniably something about her whole place that just felt…safe…so it was no wonder why he had fallen into such a deep, restful sleep. He honestly doubted that she had used any kind of magic to sneak past him. Actually, at that point, he was beginning to seriously doubt that she had any ulterior motives at all. After all, if she were going to do something about him being a youkai in the human world, well then she would've done it last night, right?

After getting dressed in his jeans, shirt and hat, he took a couple of minutes to make his bed, and then barefooted, he headed out cautiously into the living room. This woman was kind enough to let him stay in her home despite him being a youkai, and though he realized that letting strangers stay in her home was what she did for a living, he still didn't want to risk upsetting or offending her. If he truly had hit the jackpot, then the last thing he wanted to do was fuck it up for himself.

Spotting her in the kitchen as he entered the living room, Inuyasha relaxed tremendously at the sight before him. If she had been planning on having him captured, would she have gotten up extra early to make breakfast for him? Logically, one would assume she should have turned him in last night, if she were going to do so at all. He was fairly certain it was no longer a concern he needed to plague himself with. As he approached, something in him stirred at the sight of a woman fixing him breakfast, though he quickly reminded himself that her cooking his meals for him was just another part of the service. Still, the woman was a sight to see, her hair, which had been loose the night before, all wrapped up in a bun, exposing the entirety of her neck in her white and pink spaghetti-strap summer dress. He was relieved to see that she was barefoot as well, rather than sporting a pair of house slippers. Truth be told, the hanyou hated wearing anything on his feet, but he'd picked up his zori somewhere along the way because in this day and age, having dirty feet in the house simply wasn't acceptable. He understood that, and the last thing he wanted to be accused of was tracking dirt into somebody's home like a _dog_.

Kagome was lost in her own little world as she buttered the toast, thinking about her unusual houseguest. He was clearly a youkai; of that there was no doubt. Even if she couldn't sense demonic auras, a talent she'd had ever since she was a small child, there was really no way to miss his unusual hair or eye color. But even if you chalked those two things up as cosmetic, there were also his claws and fangs to consider; they most certainly looked real, and Halloween was over two months away. Besides, it didn't really seem like he was even trying to hide what he was. He'd more or less admitted it by not denying it when she'd called him a youkai to his face, instead merely voicing his surprise over her being a miko. Kagome found herself wondering what an inu-youkai such as himself – she assumed he was inu based on his name – was doing needing to rent a room for three nights. Though she knew it wasn't really any of her business.

"Ohayo gozaimasu." she greeted cheerfully without turning around when she felt his approach from behind.

"Good morning." he repeated, inhaling deeply before sighing in delight.

"Would you like some coffee?" Kagome giggled, a cup of the heavenly liquid already in her hand and on its way to him as he took a seat at the table. "Cream or sugar?"

"Black." he answered, taking a sip of the delightfully bitter beverage before adding, "I was afraid you'd only have tea."

Nodding in understanding, she turned back to her eggs before explaining, "These days, a lot of people prefer Western breakfast items, so I always make sure to give my guests a choice. I usually take their breakfast orders the night before, but I kinda forgot about it last night. I guess my mind was elsewhere." she finished with a nervous giggle. Taking a sip from her own cup of black coffee, she asked, "What would you prefer?"

"Whatever you want to cook for me is fine, Kagome. Out on my own, I don't eat hum…uh…home cooking very often, so I'm sure I'll like whatever you prepare. Oh, except no natto, too stinky for my nose."

Turning off the fire under her own eggs and setting the skillet on a cool burner, Kagome turned around and offered Inuyasha a warm, yet teasing grin.

"You don't have to tiptoe around the species barrier, you know. I'm friends with a den of kitsune, remember?"

He relaxed some under her amused gaze.

"I'm just not used to people knowing what I am any more. It's weird that you're so okay with it."

_Of course, she thinks I'm a youkai_…he thought, remembering their conversation from the night before. _Figures that she has to be a miko_. _She'll know the truth tomorrow night when my youki suddenly disappears, crap_.

"Well I grew up on a shrine, so I learned a lot from my grandfather about the various youkai of the world." Kagom began to explain, pulling Inuyasha from his thoughts. "He even put my fat ol' cat Buyo on a diet, afraid he would turn into a bakeneko since he weighed over a kan, and then Buyo went and turned into a bakeneko anyway after his thirteenth birthday. That was shortly before…"

Pausing, it took Kagome a moment to calm herself, wondering what had possessed her to start spilling her guts to a total stranger. "Well…Buyo never harmed anyone, but he ran off one day and I haven't seen him sense. I'm sure he's doing well."

With those words, Kagome walked forward and placed some plates on the table in front of her guest. Having decided to prepare for him a combination of traditional Japanese breakfast items with some American elements thrown in, she sat down a bowl of miso soup, some rice and a small plate of grilled fish, as well as one fried egg and some buttered toast. Inuyasha watched her work with a silent, thoughtful expression. He would have to be blind to miss the sudden melancholy atmosphere to her demeanor, not to mention the fact that her scent suddenly reeked of sadness.

"Something happened to your family." he stated softly, it wasn't a question.

Sitting down across from him with her own plate of toast and scrambled eggs, plus a bowl of miso soup, Kagome nodded solemnly before forcing her smile back in place.

"I'm sorry." she giggled again, waving her hand as though she were being silly. "Listen to me, just blabbing away. I'm sure you prefer quiet mornings, especially if you're used to staying by yourself."

"Actually…" he confessed after taking a few bites of food. "Since I'm usually by myself, I really don't mind it if you wanna talk. It sounds like you could use the opportunity to get it off your chest."

_Plus, I'll know if you're lying_…he added in his mind, mentally tapping his nose.

Kagome didn't know what it was about the canine man sitting before her that compelled her to be so open and honest about everything, but after his reassurance that he didn't mind listening to her tale, she found herself telling him everything. How she'd grown up on her family's shrine in Tokyo, learning from an early age that she possessed spiritual powers, and that it was supposedly her destiny to become a great shrine miko. How her grandmother from her mother's side had purchased the Yukiyama Inn and how she'd stayed there for a week when she was fifteen, feeling it in her bones that _that_ was where her future lied. How her family's beloved pet cat that they'd had since she was four had turned into a fabulous bakeneko, and that she hadn't feared him, and how Buyo had continued to be like a member of the family until the horrible day her family had been taken away from her. She had spent over a month in the hospital, and when Kaede had come down to get her, helping her go through the shrine house for her things, Buyo had been nowhere to be found. Kagome had figured that he'd probably assumed they had all been killed, and so he'd simply moved on. At least as a bakeneko she knew he could take care of himself. Kagome then went on to tell Inuyasha of how her life had first gotten started in her new home, her temporary job as a waitress, meeting and befriending the kitsune, and her grandmother's untimely passing from cancer. She was all alone, now, though she knew the spirits of her family were still watching over her. It still saddened her, at times, and sometimes she felt a bit lonely, but generally speaking she was a happy person, and he knew that that was true, remembering her warm smile from when she'd first greeted him yesterday evening. Actually, he knew that everything she'd just told him was true, not having once picked up even the slightest trace of dishonesty in her scent. No matter how good a liar somebody might think they were, nobody could fool his nose. Kagome was for real.

"What about you?" she asked him suddenly, her tone innocent and unassuming. "Anything you'd like to share?"

"Uh…"

Inuyasha was saved by the bell, literally, when Kagome's cell phone suddenly went off.

"Oh! Excuse me." she exclaimed, jumping up to make a grab for her phone.

"Moshi-moshi, Yukiyama Inn."

"Tonight and tomorrow night?" she asked, furrowing her brow when she glanced Inuyasha's way, unable to miss how he visibly stiffened at her words, his face growing nervous. "I'm terribly sorry, but I'm booked through until tomorrow night. I will have full vacancy after that. Yes, Mmm-Hmm. Okay! I'll put you two down for next weekend, then. Great, see you then. Bye."

Pushing 'end' and setting her phone back on the charging plate, Kagome jumped a little when she turned around again only to suddenly find Inuyasha standing less than two feet in front of her.

"Why did you do that?" he asked her, truly perplexed and more than a tad suspicious. "You can't possibly make very much money during off-season, so I'm sure you could've used the extra income."

"W-well, they're coming next weekend, so no harm done." Kagome answered nervously.

"But you didn't know they'd be okay with delaying their getaway when you first turned them down for _this_ weekend." he pointed out.

"I…uh…y-you didn't look too thrilled at the idea of more people showing up, so I figured that since you get to be yourself in front of others so rarely, I didn't want to spoil your chance to relax without worrying about someone else discovering what you are."

"You don't even _know _what I am." he told her matter-of-factly, and with a hint of warning.

Kagome took a step back at that, startled by his sudden change of demeanor and momentarily finding herself worried if perhaps she'd made a terrible mistake. What if he was a serial killer or something? But no…she still detected no maliciousness in his aura. His youki pulsed with power, much stronger than that of the kitsune, but it was not dark. He was a strong youkai, but he was not an evil man.

Inuyasha hadn't meant to frighten his host, and he was mentally kicking himself for the instant spike of fear in her scent as he got up in her face about why she'd just lied to potential clients on his behalf, but then just as quickly as it'd come, the stench of fear began leaving her in waves, and suddenly, she was offering him that same warm smile she'd bestowed upon him the night before.

"Then why don't you tell me?" she asked him then, and for some reason, he felt the sudden urge to pull the wool cap from his head…so he did.

Kagome gasped, the sound causing the exposed ears upon his head to flatten backwards in apprehension. He was convinced, having grown up on a shrine and learning about youkai from an early age as she had, that she would know what the ears meant. Now he would see how she _truly _felt about allowing a _freak _like him to be in her home. Better to get it out now if she was going to have a problem with it, considering he wouldn't be able to hide his transformation from her, and he couldn't risk getting kicked out while in his human form. This way, he still had time to find himself shelter somewhere else if he had to.

Kagome was stunned speechless, unable to pull her eyes away from the twin fuzzy appendages flicking nervously upon her guest's head.

"You're…hanyou?" she asked quietly, wanting to be sure.

He nodded curtly, his face unreadable.

_Of course! It all makes perfect sense now!_

It hadn't really made sense to her that a youkai would want to play human like that for no reason, renting a room from her for a few nights when there was truly no need to. Youkai were beings of magic, of energy, and while a lot of them _liked _living in the physical world, it wasn't as if they were truly stuck there. Hanyou, on the other hand, _were _stuck in the physical world. They were still mortal, in a sense, comprised of genuine flesh and blood. Her grandfather had taught her several different things about youkai, and one of them was how an animal-based hanyou would almost always possess a physical trait or two from their youkai side's animal form, a trait they could not change, because as a hanyou, they could not magically alter their appearances. They were truly a cross between a human and their youkai parent's animal, as if a human and a normal animal had somehow interbred, but then with some youkai magic thrown in for good measure. A youkai's humanoid form was merely a glamour created by their energy, their animal form being their true nature, and the one that supplied the genes to their offspring. But while a youkai was also made of flesh and blood, in this sense, their flesh and blood, even in their animal form, was still an illusion in a way, created from their ability to turn energy into substance. That was why if you killed a youkai with a purifying arrow they poofed away into nothingness, because by destroying the energy that sustained them in life, there was also nothing left to leave a body behind. They were what Shippou had taught her were called 'real illusions', as contradictive as that concept might seem. But a hanyou wasn't an illusion. A hanyou was a human being that happened to be half magical animal. Though of course, society didn't view them that way. But hanyou were so rare, Kagome had honestly never thought that she would ever one day _meet _one. She remembered reading about a case, once, where a woman had reported being raped by an oni, and then it'd turned out that she was pregnant. The unborn infant had been aborted and then studied, like some sort of bizarre genetic experiment. The scientists had all jumped at the chance to study how human and youkai DNA could function together in a single life form. But the fact that, if allowed to grow up, a hanyou was essentially a _person _was a fact that the human world deliberately overlooked.

Inuyasha's voice suddenly asking "Well? Are you going to say anything?" snapped Kagome out of her trance in that moment, as she realized with horror that she'd just been openly gawking at her houseguest for the last couple of minutes.

"Gomen-nasai…" Kagome apologized immediately, bowing submissively. "I didn't mean to stare, it's just…wow." She cringed at her poor choice of words, though he didn't see it since she was still bowed.

"Stand back up, would ya?" he asked her then, lifting his right hand to rub at the back of his head, embarrassed for having flustered her so. "I can handle staring, I'm used to staring. I wanna hear the words."

"Um, what words?" she asked as she rose to meet his gaze, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"The next words to leave your mouth, whatever they may be." he replied.

"Ano…" Kagome mumbled, still mildly confused. "It makes sense to me now." she decided upon.

_What makes sense? _he thought. Suddenly, he was the one who was confused.

Perhaps reading it in his eyes, or perhaps having simply already known that she should elaborate upon such a vague statement, Kagome continued in that moment.

"It makes sense why you would need to rent a room." she explained, and his eyes immediately widened, truly surprised that she would know _that _much about hanyou, having grown up on a shrine or not.

"Being hanyou, you cannot project yourself into the land of the youkai. You cannot co-exist with our timeline safely tucked away in another dimension. You're stuck here, on Earth, just like any full-blooded human. But being unable to _truly _live like a human, it must be so hard for you, constantly wandering from place to place, always afraid of letting people know what you are."

He relaxed somewhat as her explanation sank in. So…she didn't know everything about hanyou, after all. Of course, part of him had actually almost hoped that she _had_ known, because now it meant that he would have to explain it to her. But why do today what you could put off till tomorrow, right?

"So it really doesn't bother you?" he asked her then, his expression and tone akin to something like wonder. "That I'm a half-breed freak?"

Kagome crinkled her nose at his words.

"I guess 'half-breed' is an accurate term, but I don't like it, it sounds insulting. Freak? No way. You should see some of the people I get as guests from time to time. I have seen my fair share of freaks, and _believe _me, you're not a freak."

He chuckled a little at that, her mirth contagious as she giggled quietly.

"I am surprised, though." she admitted after a moment, the atmosphere between them relaxed as she sat back down to finish her breakfast, Inuyasha quickly following suit.

"Oh? Didn't expect the ears, huh?" he teased, wiggling them back and forth, and actually smirking as she giggled again, her eyes following their every movement.

"No way." she confessed behind a laugh. "I had pretty much figured out you were hiding your ears with the cap, but I just thought you were hiding pointy elfin ears on the sides of your head, you kept the cap tugged down so low."

"I had to keep it tugged down that low so that no one would notice that I had _no _ears on the sides of my head."

"That makes sense." Kagome said with a nod, refilling her cup of coffee before offering him a warmer, which he readily accepted.

"But your youki is so strong…" she added after a moment, her voice taking on a hint of wonder. "I'm really having a hard time believing that you're half human, with a demonic aura that powerful. Your youkai parent had to be _insanely _powerful."

He just shrugged.

"My father was an ancient daiyoukai." he told her, confirming her suspicions, before giving her a brief, highly edited rundown of his own life's story.

While he obviously wasn't ready to completely open up with a woman he'd known for less than twenty-four hours, he figured it wouldn't hurt anything to explain a thing or two, considering she already knew what he was. So he told her a few key points, like how his father had fallen in love with his human mother, and how he had died protecting her and her entire hometown from a terrible dragon attack before he was born. Because everyone had borne witness to his father's good deed and sacrifice, taking the dragon out with him and thus assuring their town's safety, when they later discovered the secret that his mother was pregnant the townspeople had willingly, albeit reluctantly, allowed his mother to stay and raise him among them. He'd been the victim of prejudice, ridicule and taunting growing up, but he had at least had a safe childhood, raised by a mother who loved him. He told Kagome in passing of his sword and fire-rat fur kimono, explaining that they were mementos from his father that the daiyoukai had given to Izayoi as gifts for their child upon first discovering that she was pregnant, though he didn't elaborate to the human woman before him the secrets of just what powers those objects truly contained. Kagome smiled to learn that, although the hanyou had never met his father, he knew that the full-blooded inu-youkai had loved him, just as his mother had. She figured the demonic sword was probably very dangerous, but she still held no fear for the man sitting across from her at her kitchen table.

Inuyasha then went on to tell Kagome, briefly, of his various escapades after his mother's passing, as he lived with the taijiya for a time before being more or less excommunicated from that community, and how he'd been a nomad ever since, just doing whatever he could to get by. He didn't tell her anything of his failed relationship with Kikyou, it was none of her business, after all, and he also didn't tell her, yet, about the secret of the new moon, though he knew that that was one secret he would have to divulge before too much longer.

"It sounds like your life has been even lonelier than mine." Kagome replied with a sigh once he finished telling her his story.

He merely shrugged again.

"You get used to it." he brushed off, rising from his chair to take his empty dishes to the sink.

"Oh I'll get that. You're my guest, after all." Kagome insisted, shooing him out of the kitchen while she did the dishes.

Deciding to take advantage of having a washer and dryer at his disposal, Inuyasha went back to his room and changed into his old fire-rat robes, his demonic outfit – complete with spider-silk kosode and fundoshi – being the only clothing he owned that never needed to be washed. He then bundled up all of his 'human' clothes, consisting of four pairs of jeans, five t-shirts and two wife beaters, and headed past Kagome into the washroom. Turning the machine on and adding the detergent, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel strangely relieved to finally have somebody to talk to. _Truly _talk to. Although he didn't feel comfortable opening up to Kagome about anything emotional, refusing to let the hardened wall around his heart crumble away completely, he found he didn't mind temporarily removing a brick or two from that wall. It couldn't hurt to let a little fresh air in now and then, right? He hadn't met a soul who had been _okay _with him being half inu-youkai since his days in the taijiya village, and while a part of him was dreading having to reveal his most intimate secret to her, another part also told him that she would accept that part of him as well, just as she seemed to accept everything else about him without issue. And that acceptance was so odd in its own right, Inuyasha couldn't decide if he was thrilled to have met Kagome, or terrified. Already he wasn't looking forward to leaving her establishment the day after tomorrow, and that was bad, very bad. There was nothing for him there. Sure, the place carried with it a sense of security, but how long would that security truly last? He was bound to eventually find himself on his own again, so what was the point in delaying the inevitable? What was the point in opening himself up only to be hurt again? Besides, it wasn't like he was staying there for free. If he were just living with Kagome for free it would be a different story, but he was paying for his time at her inn, and he needed to save his money for his human nights. He wasn't rich, and paying to stay even longer at Kagome's B & B would be downright foolish, no matter how badly a small part of him wanted to stay in her company. Still, he _was _there for the next two days, so there was no harm in enjoying it while it lasted, right?

Keeping that last thought in mind, it was with a nod of determination to not let his usual pessimistic outlook on life get him down that he exited the washroom, finding Kagome dusting in the living room. She looked up his approach with a mild look of surprise that quickly turned into a broad grin, as she told him she thought he looked very ethereal in his vintage suikan and hakama, like a celestial being from a Noh play. He blushed at the unexpected and unusual compliment. Having taken the tie from his hair, it was loose and free flowing, and with his canine ears exposed and erect on the top of his head, he looked every bit the creature of legend that he really was.

The rest of the day was spent lazing about. Since neither of them really had anything to do, Kagome volunteered to watch TV with him out in the living room. Although he wouldn't admit it directly, she could sense from him that he was starved for attention. While he'd told her of how he occasionally managed to land himself a random room with some random person for a month or two here and there, this time was unquestionably different because he could _finally _be _himself_.

Since he obviously wasn't following the storyline behind any kind of drama or sitcom on TV, Kagome turned it to the game show channel, and they spent the rest of the morning going into early afternoon laughing at the contestants on Majide and Human Tetris. She then made them a quick pair of bento boxes for lunch, and after eating she offered to take him on a walk through the forest to meet the kitsune. Kagome explained that Shippou and the others had been told long ago not to approach the property if she had any guests, so it was unlikely that they would show themselves of their own accord while he was present, hanyou or no. Not wanting to be argumentative with his host, Inuyasha had already told himself that he would go along with just about whatever she suggested, though if he were to be honest with himself he actually was mildly curious about the kitsune.

Introductions went well, and Inuyasha found that he could understand why Kagome had decided against selling her grandmother's fairly new business to return to the shrine of her roots after Kaede's passing. He saw the way her eyes lit up when the kitsune children showed themselves. Though Kagome hadn't said as much, Inuyasha was sure that the fox cubs were the real reason why she had decided to stay in her new home rather than move back to Tokyo. He had to admit, in that moment, he was almost as grateful for her decision as the kitsune.

Dinner that night was a peaceful affair. Once again dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt after taking a brief shower, Inuyasha left his hair loose from its tie upon Kagome's insistence that she preferred it that way. Of course, fair was fair, and so Kagome's raven locks were also free flowing about her shoulders since _he_ also preferred _her _hair that way. The fact that they were each styling their hair according to the other's preference plagued him momentarily, but since that fact didn't seem to faze Kagome any, he quickly decided to let it go. Having plenty of eggplant in her vegetable garden, the would-be miko decided to make them a traditional yakinasu with harusame salad on the side. Inuyasha had had grilled eggplant before, but quickly decided that he liked Kagome's the best. For dessert, she surprised him by producing a carton of cactus ice cream from her freezer, and taking her word for it he gave it a try, and was very pleased with that decision.

Going to bed for his second of three nights in Kagome's house, Inuyasha felt more relaxed than he could remember feeling in a long time, at least while sharing a roof with a human. If it weren't for the nights of the new moon, he would probably avoid human beings indefinitely. With his fire-rat robes he didn't really need any other clothing, and since he could hunt for himself with little effort he truly had no reason for money whatsoever, aside from purchasing shelter for his human nights. The forests were not as void of youkai as most humans liked to believe, and while it was true that they were few and far between, and generally left him alone on most days, the sensation of his youki fleeing him as he became human would function as a beacon for all the hidden youkai of the wilds, a giant neon sign with an arrow pointed at his head, reading 'Come and get it!'

It was for that reason, and that reason alone, that he interacted with humans as often as he did, doing work whenever work found him. Usually, those odd jobs would include free shelter for at least a little while, so he usually tried to time it right so that he would spend his human night with his temporary employer, tucked securely away in his room for the night, of course. The money he would make at those times paid for shelter during the months when he did not have a current job, and every so often, he would treat himself to a couple of extra nights, like he had done this time around. That was partially because he was spoiled, and preferred sleeping in a bed to a tree more than he was willing to admit, but mainly, it was to help avoid suspicion, should anyone ever think to make a connection between a youkai suddenly needing a hotel room for one night and the lunar cycle. With the moonless night falling on a Sunday this time around, it had made perfect sense to seek a room for the entire weekend. No one would suspect a thing, and since he could afford it, why not? He had a whole month to worry about adding more money back into his 'bank account', which was code for one of the inside pockets of his backpack. He presently had enough money on him to pay for seven more nights in an average hotel room, so if he switched his game plan to budgeting his funds being more important than alleviating suspicion, he was good for another seven months, at least. If he headed back into the nearest big city and spent a few moonless nights in a capsule hotel, he could probably even make his money stretch for an entire year. If there was one thing he had learned in his long life, it was to always plan ahead, _and_ to always have a fallback plan after the main one. Worst-case scenario, he knew he could always head to the busy streets of Tokyo and simply wander around all night, the endless sea of drunken humans functioning as his shelter. As unappealing as it was, it kept him alive for another month.

**o0o**

Waking up the morning of the night of the new moon, Inuyasha grimaced as the smell of freshly brewed coffee reached his nose. Not because he suddenly found his favorite Western innovation unappealing, but because with the coffee came instant thoughts of the woman who had brewed it. He wasn't looking forward to telling Kagome about tonight.

Ordinarily, it wouldn't have been a problem. Without her miko powers, even if she had still managed to figure out what he was based on appearances, she could've remained none the wiser as he merely excused himself a little early that evening. He had yet to take advantage of the washroom's inviting bathtub, which could have functioned as the perfect excuse, stating that he'd like to unwind in a bath before bed. How could she argue him that? Then he could have stayed locked away in the washroom until he was certain she had retired for the night before sneaking back to his own quarters. Yes, that _would have been _the perfect way to avoid her during his transformation. Unfortunately, the kami weren't that merciful toward hanyou.

Kagome was a miko…a _real _miko. Professional or not, it didn't matter. She had the gift. She could create wards, and he would bet his entire bank account that she could fire purifying arrows. Miko, even in this day and age, were still trained with the bow for meditative purposes, so there's no way she didn't know how to handle one if she'd been raised to be a miko before her family's death. Being able to sense youki, and having already commented on how _powerful _his aura was, meant that there was no _way _she wouldn't detect its sudden absence during his human transformation. He also knew that his youki didn't just disappear in one swoop, as if he had suddenly vanished, but rather, it actually pulsed a few times, steadily growing weaker and weaker in waves until the change finally consumed him. He already had first hand documentary – from another miko he tried not to think about – that the pulsing and extinguishing of his youki as he gradually turned human felt to a spiritualist as though he were dying. If he didn't tell Kagome in advance what was going on and just tried to hide out in the washroom or his bedroom all night, she would probably run in on him, frantic that something terrible had happened to him.

Okay, so she might not actually run _in _on him in the bathtub, but he could certainly picture her banging on the door, crying his name and frantically asking if he were all right. Of course, he would be obligated to answer her, especially since silence would almost guarantee her eventual entry, but then as he shakily tried to tell her that he was fine and to leave him alone, she would undoubtedly pick up on the agitation in his voice, not to mention the change in pitch as even his vocal cords lost some of their strength.

Oh yes, he had thought the entire scenario through.

How she would react afterwards he couldn't be certain of, figuring it could be anything from embarrassment on her part for having stumbled upon such a private time for him, to feeling hurt that he had failed to tell her something so important, like he didn't _trust _her. Of course, it wasn't really as if he _did _trust her, but he also knew he didn't really have a choice in the matter. The bottom line was that she would fine out, one way or another, and he was mature enough at that stage in his life to comprehend the fact that, regardless of the outcome, it would be better for him if he just came clean and told her in advance.

It was with that last thought in mind that the inu-hanyou finally dragged his ass out of bed. Running his claws through his hair for a moment, he pulled on a faded pair of jeans and a gray wife beater, smiling a little to himself as the scent of Kagome's 'spring time' detergent reached his nose. It was nice to have clean clothes again. Making the bed, Inuyasha headed out past the living room and into the kitchen, smiling at the different, yet familiar scene.

Kagome had left her hair down this time, a simple ribbon pulling it back so that nothing got in her way while cooking. Instead of the white and pink floral sundress from yesterday, she was once again wearing a pair of light blue jeans, similar in shade to his own, with a white short-sleeve button-up blouse completing her casual look.

"Hey, we match!" Kagome giggled in greeting as she turned to offer him his cup of coffee.

"How about that…" he commented absentmindedly, the scent of food making his mouth water.

Kagome's mouth was watering for a whole different reason.

_He looks…really good in a tank top_._ Stop it! Bad Kagome!_

"I've got to do some weeding today." she told him conversationally as she placed his breakfast before him, hoping to distract herself as she explained her reason for the denim, since she would be on her knees out in the garden. She quickly turned around to hide her blush at the blunt statement of her being on her knees, but her embarrassment went unnoticed by him as he took another sip of coffee, politely waiting for her to join him at the table with her own food before taking his first bite.

"No problem, you do whatever you gotta do." he told her then, nonchalantly eating his fish while mentally kicking himself for his cowardice to start the much needed conversation.

Inuyasha was so caught up in his inner nervousness about how to approach her regarding the secret of tonight that he was completely oblivious to the fact that Kagome was also harboring her own secret anxieties.

Despite outward appearances, Kagome was a nervous wreck. She had done a lot of thinking last night, as she'd lied awake unable to fall asleep, staring up at her ceiling.

_I don't want him to leave_…she had realized, shocked and confused over where such a feeling had even come from. Yes, he seemed to be a relatively nice man, and yes, her heart could most certainly go out to him, given his plight, but that didn't really mean that she _knew _him.

Still, Kagome had always prided herself on being an excellent judge of character, and there was just something about Inuyasha that told her he was a good man, a man deserving of a decent life. She wasn't really sure what she could offer him, or even if he would be interested, but after his telling her of how he frequently bounced around staying with random strangers for a few months at a time as he earned his keep with the occasional odd jobs, Kagome was certain she could put him to work with some kind of chore or another so that he wouldn't feel like a charity case. She got the feeling that he was too prideful to accept an offer to stay without earning his keep in one fashion or another. She also supposed it would be better to start small, telling him he could stay for 'a while longer' if he wanted to, that he didn't have to run out right away. The way he'd made it sound, that he'd stay with whomever until he wore out his welcome – which translated as either completing whatever job he had been hired to do, or his employer discovering his youkai status, whichever came first – struck Kagome as meaning that he was always trying to find shelter for himself in one way or another. Not that she could blame him. Despite being half youkai and undoubtedly having some sense of comfort out in the wild forests, she could only imagine that it was his human half that kept him coming back to society time and time again, seeking some semblance of normalcy.

Now all she had to do was find the courage to extend her offer before he actually left, though she supposed there was truly no hurry since he was there for another day. Still, it wouldn't hurt to start subtly making the man feel needed and appreciated.

"If you want to just kick back and watch TV or whatever, you're more than welcome to do whatever you want, but if you're bored, I could certainly use an extra pair of hands out in the garden, if you wouldn't mind."

Inuyasha froze mid-bite, his chopsticks suspended in the air with his next bite of fish immediately forgotten as he stared at Kagome with surprise and confusion.

_Does she normally recruit her guests to aid her in the garden?_ he wondered.

Somehow he didn't think so, but the girl had already admitted to feeling lonely at times, and it'd probably been months since the last time she'd had anyone staying with her. He could understand her being torn between needing to do her obligatory chores and wanting to visit with him. Besides, if he were to be truly honest with himself, he wouldn't mind remaining in her company, either, and he also kind of felt like he owed her one, allowing him to stay in her inn considering what he was. Sure, he was a paying customer, but he'd lost track of the number of times he'd been shown the 'We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone' sign before being asked none too kindly to leave.

Shrugging as nonchalantly as he could after regaining composure of himself, Inuyasha ate his bite of fish, taking a sip of coffee before finally stating, "Not like I had any plans. Sure, I'll help out."

**o0o**

Weeding was a surprisingly fun pastime, at least when a gaggle of kitsune got it in their heads to make things more…_interesting_. And 'gaggle' was an accurate term, considering the fox kits had all flown in wearing the guise of white-fronted geese. Suddenly, for every weed Inuyasha pulled, two more grew in its place, each with cartoon faces blowing raspberries at him. Kagome couldn't stop laughing, assuring Inuyasha that it meant the kids liked him. Shippou broke away from the pack after a few minutes, defecting to their side as he declared to Kagome that he would protect to two of them from further assault, to which Inuyasha snorted, though he had to admit a large part of him actually liked the runt. It had surprised him that none of the kitsune had had a problem with his hanyou status, though he supposed it wasn't _that _unusual since kitsune were among one of the few races of youkai that truly liked humans, and not as a snack. It wasn't all that uncommon for female foxes to fall in love with human men, though such interracial coupling almost never led to hanyou children when the _female _was the youkai. They were instinctively very aware of their body's fertility cycle. It also wasn't all that uncommon for male kitsune to take on human female appearances, though there was no need to worry about conceiving in those cases for a whole different and obvious reason.

After finally ridding Kagome's vegetable garden of every real _and _fake weed it contained, Inuyasha was caught off guard by the strange smile the miko sent his way. The way she gazed at him, as if they were friends, as if they'd known each other for longer than just two days, immediately reminded him of a very important conversation he needed to have with her.

"Kagome…" "Inuyasha…" they started at the same time, causing them both to blush and turn their heads.

Shippou picked that moment to remind the adults of his presence, having sensed the awkward moment between them though not understanding it.

"What's for lunch, Kagome?" he asked, his tail swooshing as he looked up at her expectantly.

"Keh, you mooch her food, too?" Inuyasha asked, his voice only half accusing and half amused.

"What would you like for lunch, Shippou-chan?" Kagome asked the boy, sending Inuyasha a quick wink.

It was no secret among the kitsune that Shippou had more or less adopted Kagome like a surrogate mother. His own mother had been killed years earlier, and while the boy loved his father and all of his friends, there was just something nurturing about spending time with the human woman that the other foxes didn't begrudge him. It was also no secret among the kitsune that to Kagome, Shippou was her favorite. Everyone knew of their history, of how they'd met.

"Grilled rabbit!" the young kit piped up enthusiastically, earning a chortle from the inu-hanyou before Kagome spoke up with all seriousness, "I'm afraid I'm fresh out of rabbit."

Thinking to play along, and also to get back at the wench for laughing her ass off at his earlier predicament with the weeds, Inuyasha offered in that moment, "I could go hunt us down a rabbit." But instead of the glare or exasperated eye roll he had been expecting from Kagome, she beamed at him with genuine gratitude.

"Really? You wouldn't mind?" she asked. Inside, she was doing a little mental happy-dance. She would like to pat herself on the back for such a simple yet ingenious way to show him what he could do for her, but the truth was she hadn't fed Shippou that line about asking for rabbit, and the whole thing was an honest coincidence.

The fact of the matter was that Shippou had brought her a dead rabbit once, his animalistic way of offering her a gift. She had been mildly disturbed at first, and he had immediately sensed that he'd done something wrong, but then she'd brushed off the boy's concerns and had proceeded to skin and gut his catch, grilling the rabbit meat to perfection and offering to share her meal with him. Ever since then, every once in a while he would bring her a freshly killed rabbit, saying that it was the least he could do, to pay her back for being so kind to him, for being willing to put up with him and his friends, and their occasional pranks. She'd long ago gotten used to her freezer containing wrapped packages of rabbit meat along side the beef, pork and poultry she'd buy at the local market, but the truth was that she _was _out of rabbit meat at the moment. It wasn't anything she could get more of at the store, after all, or at least not the little market in her neck of the woods.

Inuyasha was once again stunned into silence. He couldn't decide if Kagome was serious or just trying to take his teasing to the next level. Would she and Shippou start laughing at his expense if he ran off to go hunt? Or worse, would she be appalled to be reminded of his animal status in such a way, disgusted by his appearance afterwards as he stood with a dead animal dangling from his claws like the monster he truly was? Kagome struck him as the kind of girl that cooed over how _cute_ a 'bunny' was, not the kind willing to actually _eat _one. But he quickly realized the miko was completely serious when she proceeded to tell him how he didn't have to worry about taking the time to prepare the animal for cooking before bringing it back to her. That she was used to bleeding, skinning and gutting small animals by that point and had managed to convince herself that preparing a rabbit in such a way was no different from preparing a fish.

"You…I…really? O-okay. I guess I'll go fetch us a rabbit, then." he said rather sheepishly, before suddenly turning and bolting into the forest. The run would do him some good.

Kagome did laugh a little to herself, but only at his surprise and fluster.

It didn't take him long at all to return to her inn, dead rabbit in hand, and to his utter relief, she merely thanked him for going through the trouble, telling him how it was very nice of him to have volunteered such a thing. In turn he assured her that it was no big deal, that he hunted small game for himself all the time, and that he was honestly glad he could help. His assistance didn't stop there, either. Though Kagome insisted that she had gutted and skinned rabbits before, when Inuyasha offered to do it for her anyway, she was visibly grateful for the offer, and didn't argue with him over it. It wasn't too long before diced rabbit meat was once again grilling to perfection, and after enjoying his share of the midday meal, Shippou announced that he had better get back home for the night, thus relieving the hanyou of his growing worry that his pending secret was about to be discovered by more people than just Kagome.

When he had started thinking of her as 'just Kagome' he couldn't be sure, but as evening approached, Inuyasha admittedly didn't feel quite as nervous about revealing this side of himself to her as he had previously been. He felt oddly comfortable around Kagome, and while his confusion over that unexplainable comfort ironically made him feel _un_comfortable in return, he still felt about as good as could be expected, all things considered.

"Kagome…" he started suddenly, as the pair watched some random hidden camera show on TV.

"Hmm?" she asked, turning her head to glance his way.

Her anxiety about trying to figure out how to extend her invitation to him had returned tenfold after lunch, though the sudden nervousness to his own voice strangely had her relaxing somewhat in that moment. What else could he possibly have to be nervous about? If he were about to ask her himself if he could stay with her longer, she would readily agree.

"There's something…I need to tell you." he started instead. "There's a specific reason why I seek shelter at times. It _is_ because I'm a hanyou, but not solely for the reason you guessed yesterday."

That confused her. His tone almost sounded like he was trying to confess something to her. Was he truly a criminal, after all? Had he originally been planning on robbing her, only now he couldn't go through with it because he had grown to care for her?

_Listen to me, typical female imagination…_she mentally snorted. _I need to lay off the romance novels_, she told herself then, silencing the TV to give him her full attention. Whatever it was he was trying to tell her, it was clearly important.


	3. Secrets, Decisions, and Secret Decisions

Chapter 3 – Secrets, Decisions, and Secret Decisions

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As Kagome listened to Inuyasha confess his greatest secret, the first thought to come to mind was how her grandfather would have loved to have learned something like that. He'd always prided himself on his in-depth knowledge of the youkai world, though she could certainly understand how something like _that _had successfully remained a tightly guarded secret among hanyou and the parents of hanyou. Probably nobody ever knew about it until the first time it happened, and it was only common sense that you wouldn't want to let just anyone discover such a thing. That he was telling her now, she felt both humbled and honored.

"You're telling me this because of my miko powers, aren't you?" she asked bluntly, though with amazement clear in her voice. "You knew I'd sense it when your youki disappeared."

"Yes." he answered her honestly. What was the point in lying?

"Well…" she started after a moment, looking across at him as they remained seated on the couch, his still amber eyes piercing her very soul. "Even though you sort of felt like you didn't have a choice, thank you…for trusting me with something like this. I swear to you on my life that I shall never tell a soul."

Such a serious, formal vow… He hadn't been expecting that kind of a reaction, and all the air just sort of whooshed out of him, along with the last of his anxieties. Deciding it was time for dinner, they turned the TV off and headed into the kitchen, Inuyasha offering to help Kagome with whatever he could along the lines of preparation for their evening meal. At first she tried to argue, stating how it was her job to cook _for _him, but when he insisted that he could never repay her for all the kindness she'd shown him and that it was quite literally the least he could do, she eventually relented. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to get him to agree to stay with her, after all…though she wasn't quite brave enough to voice her offer just yet.

They engaged in idle conversation throughout dinner, Inuyasha daring to share a little more of himself as he told her some random stories about no particular time in his life. Stories about some of the various jobs he'd been on and some of the various youkai he'd fought in the past. While he still didn't reveal to her the true depth of his sword's destructive powers, he did confess, upon her inquiry, that the blade possessed supernatural abilities. He also confessed, upon her inquiry, that he himself possessed some supernatural abilities, as well, even besides the obvious things like slow aging and fast healing, super strength and senses. Kagome had already figured out those things on her own based on the strength of his youki and the nature of his youkai heritage. But when she learned that he was capable of generating youki-based attacks from his own body, instead of feeling even the slightest hint of fear, Kagome expressed her fascination with him, wondering aloud just what it was that caused certain beings to possess such types of power. After all, she was not without her own variety of magic, being a miko, and she expressed equal curiosity with regard to her own being and her own abilities. Shrugging, Inuyasha hypothesized that humans like houshi and miko were probably nature's way of balancing the score. When asked if it bothered him that she was a miko, Inuyasha was honest when he told her that he actually appreciated the fact that she had her own set of powers. It made them more equal, in his eyes. He didn't fear her; even if she suddenly decided to turn on him, he'd dealt with his fair share of spiritualists over the years and he was certain that he could defend himself, but the opposite was also true. Because Kagome knew that _she _could also defend _herself_, she had no need to fear him, either, and he liked the fact that they were on even terms.

They were in the middle of dessert when it started, his youki pulsing loudly against her senses as it seemingly cried out in despair. Unable to tear her gaze away from him, she stared openly as the changes gradually consumed him. Slowly, like watching the roots of bleached hair growing out in super high-speed, raven black inked its way down into his silvery tresses. His ears…the adorable, fuzzy, she'd been doing everything within her power to not childishly ask him if she could touch them, ears…they morphed and grew bald before her very eyes, climbing down the sides of his head as if someone had fed a computer a 'before' and 'after' shot and allowed image-morphing software to fill in the rest. Taking a brief moment to glance down at his hands, which were on open display upon the table as if he knew she would want visual access to every part of him, Kagome immediately noted the way his claws thinned and shortened, turning into regular, predominantly useless human fingernails. Once it was over, he sighed, and then offered her a phony smile, showing off his missing fangs. His face immediately bounced back into a scowl, a look of discomfort in his now chocolate eyes flashing her way as he picked up his spoon and resumed eating his ice cream.

"I understand, if you want to go to bed early tonight." Kagome told him quietly after a moment, not sure what else to say to break the awkward silence between them after the change was complete.

"Actually, I ain't plannin' on going to bed at all." he answered her, his voice still the same yet somehow noticeably different at the same time in a way she didn't quite know how to describe. "I never sleep during my human night," he added, "and that stupid bed of yours is too damn comfortable for its own good. Is it okay if I watch TV out here? I'll keep the volume down."

Kagome offered him a sincere smile.

"Of course, that's fine. Did you want to be by yourself, or would you like some company?" she asked him gently.

He looked momentarily surprised, but then shrugged it off. "Ain't no point in sending you away since you already _know_, so sure, if you _wanted _to stay up with me for a while, I ain't gonna stop ya."

She smiled at that, somehow sensing that his nonchalance was code for actually wanting her company. After all, if he truly wanted to be by himself, then surely he would've just said so.

Finishing their dessert, Kagome and Inuyasha headed back into the living room, regaining their positions on the couch from when he'd confessed to her his secret before dinner. They watched TV in silence for a little while, but it wasn't long before Kagome couldn't hold herself back any more.

"Does it hurt?" she asked him suddenly, cringing even as the words left her mouth.

Inuyasha sighed, pushing mute on the remote.

"I'm sorry…you don't have to talk to me about it if you don't want to." Kagome spoke up before he even had a chance to say anything.

"It's not that I don't wanna talk about it, it's just that I…I know me, and I'm more open and emotional when I'm like this. See! Already I never would've even told you _that!"_

Kagome couldn't help but to giggle behind her hand a little bit at his flustered state, the hanyou-turned-human blushing like an embarrassed teenager at his unintentional confession.

"Well it's up to you." she told him then. "I am most certainly curious, and would love to hear absolutely anything that you feel willing to share, but I understand and will respect your privacy, if you do not feel comfortable talking about such things."

His eyes softened.

"I…I _do _feel comfortable around you, Kagome, I just don't understand _why_." he confessed quietly.

"Well…when was the last time you let somebody know this much about you? That somebody knew you were a hanyou, and that you turn human once a month?" Kagome asked him, trying to point out how it was okay for him to feel more open with her than other people because he _was _more open with her than other people. While the original whys behind that openness were unknown, even to her, she couldn't deny that she'd felt an uncanny closeness with him, as well, sharing _her _own life story when she'd most certainly never told any of her other guests any of the things she'd shared with him that first morning. But what was done was done, so now, did it even really _matter_ 'why'?Maybe they had both just been left alone for too long, and so together, they'd sought comfort in each other, recognizing each other as kindred spirits of loneliness.

"Not since Kikyou." he answered her before thinking, his eyes widening in panic at the slip.

Sensing from his own reaction to his words that they'd just stumbled upon something extremely personal, Kagome hesitated before daring to ask, "Who's Kikyou?"

Sighing, Inuyasha reluctantly confessed to Kagome the part about his life in the taijiya village that he'd omitted before, in that, at least briefly, his life hadn't been quite as lonely as she had been led to believe. He told her how he had actually found love, once, having been engaged to be married, his beloved being a miko who had been prepared and willing to give up her trade for a normal life with him until the shogunate had stormed in right at the wrong time and ruined everything, turning most of the village against him and forcing him to flee. He didn't divulge much of his heartache, that hadn't been her question, after all, but it was true that Kikyou had been the last person he'd been so open and honest with. While everyone living in the taijia village had known that he was half human, only the headman's family, Miroku and Kikyou had known that he occasionally _turned _human. Kikyou had been the last person he'd ever shared that secret with, and that had been around a hundred and fifty years ago, give or take.

Kagome was surprised to learn that he had actually had a relationship once in the past, though she was glad for him that he'd had the experience, and sad for the way it had ended. Easily recognizing that it was still a tender subject for him, she chose her next words very carefully, glossing over his broken heart to stick to the subject of him generally letting people in on his secrets. "Well…" she started gently, reaching across the couch to place a caring hand on his shoulder. "I'd say that you're overdo for letting it all come out, then. Nobody can keep themselves bottled up forever, they don't make bottles big enough."

Laughing a little despite himself, Inuyasha's human emotions didn't have their usual youkai buffers in place to keep his heart at bay. Deciding in that moment that even if Kagome betrayed him, that so long as she let him look into her beautiful stormy gray-blue eyes while she stabbed him in the heart that he could die a happy man, the hanyou-turned-human found himself opening up to her completely. He told her everything. Earlier, he had stopped with the biology lesson of a hanyou's human time, preparing her for what was going to happen to him, but nothing more. Now, he shared his entire history with her, regarding his 'time of the month'. He told her of how his mother had once told _him _of how she'd been so scared the first time he'd changed, as a two-week-old baby. How he wouldn't stop crying. He even remembered crying during his human nights as a small child, and his poor mother doing her best to sooth him with her lullabies. It _didn't_ hurt, he assured Kagome in that moment, but to a child who didn't understand it, it had been the scariest thing in the world to suddenly lose all his senses. Hell, even as an adult over two centuries old, it was _still _the scariest thing in the world to suddenly lose all his senses, and that fear was the real reason he sought shelter in the human world on a monthly basis. He explained to her that his youkai senses were so strong that to suddenly become human, it was the same level of shock it would be to _her _system if she went _completely_ blind and deaf for one night a month.

She shuddered at the thought. She could certainly understand his desire to get himself someplace safe on those nights.

After sharing so much of himself, Kagome immediately felt that she owed him one in the 'life history' department, and so it wasn't long at all before she ended up telling him that he could ask her whatever he wanted in return, if there was anything else he'd like to know about her as well.

Boy was there ever.

Questioning her about her miko training, first and foremost, Inuyasha wished to learn just how strong of a miko she actually was. For starters, how had she learned to create wards that only blocked jyaki without blocking youki altogether? It turned out that the language behind writing the ofuda was easy, since most wards against oni essentially stated their protection against evil. It was the perspective of the monk or miko who infused the ward with their power that ultimately affected what the ward itself considered to be 'evil' in the end. Creating wards that only repelled jyaki had been her idea, shortly after moving into the B & B back when it had still belonged to her grandmother, and it was something Kagome had had to teach herself how to do since none of her grandfather's scrolls had mentioned such a thing. But truth be told, she _had _been nervous of a youkai attack, living so close to the forest, though growing equally as close to the kitsune and not wanting to risk accidentally injuring any of them, or worse, had been what'd driven her to find a way to create her unique type of warding. She didn't want to hurt anybody, or at least not anybody who hadn't been looking to hurt her first. How did she know she'd succeeded? The kitsune were able to project their youki into false copies of themselves, Shippou called it his 'duplication' spell. When she had been practicing, he'd sent his duplicates towards her barrier, and only after they started to make it through without poofing away did he dare to approach the border himself. How did they know her barrier still actively protected against jyaki? It had been risky, but with the kitsune's assistance, a lowly, unintelligent oni had been found and lured toward the inn. Her barrier had not killed it, but it had successfully repelled it try after try, which was exactly what she'd been going for. After a few minutes the beast had thankfully given up and headed back into the forest, no harm done. She was relieved it hadn't headed into town, instead, because then she would have probably had to 'take care of it'. Fortunately, that hadn't been the case, though she'd had her bow with her during the experiment, just in case.

Yes, it turned out that she _could _fire purifying arrows, surprise surprise, as well as make ofuda at full purifying strength, though she also told Inuyasha in that moment that she'd never had any interest in taking up youkai-slaying as a profession. Not even against the youkai that were truly evil, like he himself used to do. She just hadn't wanted that kind of a life. Her 'when I grow up' dreams had consisted mainly of getting married and raising a family. Shrine miko or no, she hadn't been about to let the old idealism of miko needing to remain pure prevent her from finding a husband. Much like Kikyou had decided for a brief time, if true love had ever found her, Kagome would have readily followed her heart. She apologized sympathetically to Inuyasha for the fact that in the end, Kikyou had let her fear of the shogun rule her life, but surprisingly he brushed off her concerns. He'd long ago convinced himself that he and Kikyou simply hadn't been meant to be, because otherwise, they would have stayed together, simple as that. He appreciated that he at least had some happy memories of his brief time with Kikyou to look back on with a smile, but she was in the past, and he knew he couldn't live in the past. His Buddhist friend Miroku had taught him that all things in life happened for a reason, and that in the end, everything was as it should be, so he always tried to live his life one day at a time, accepting that whatever happened, happened because it was meant to.

Kagome agreed with that philosophy, bringing up how her own life had gone in a completely different direction from her childhood plans and dreams. Being a miko, or even giving _up _being a miko to raise a family…that was all in the past, now. She was one birthday away from turning into Christmas Cake, and she hadn't had a boyfriend since high school. But she didn't regret her decision to stay at the Yukiyama Inn instead of returning to her old shrine home in back Tokyo. Yes, one of the main deciding factors had been the kitsune, she admitted upon his inquiry, but she also told Inuyasha of her dream, of the vision she'd had at age fifteen that the B & B was her own home and her own business. Why would she want to go back to the lonely shrine in Tokyo? There was nothing for her there. She needed to follow the path the kami had chosen for her, and discover for herself where her destiny would lead her. So far, she was very happy with her life in the northern mountains, even if it was much lonelier than she would've preferred, not having anyone to share it with on a permanent basis.

Shyly, Inuyasha assured Kagome that he was sure, if she truly believed in all things happening for a reason, as he did, that whatever plans the kami had laid out for her would unveil themselves in time.

"I hope so…" she answered, a strange twinkle in her eyes that he wasn't sure he could properly identify, though he _was_ sure he didn't want to guess and risk being wrong.

Quickly getting the conversation back around to less…serious…topics, Inuyasha insisted that they didn't need to spill every single thing about each other all in one sitting, that his 'bottle' definitely felt much less heavy now that he'd poured at least some of himself out of it, and that if she was tired and wanted to go to bed, he was perfectly capable of watching TV by himself for the rest of the night.

It hadn't been a subtle hint for her to leave him be, however, and so upon her continued insistence that she wanted to stay up with him, he continued to let her, and that was how Inuyasha found himself grinning stupidly at the slumbering miko passed out on the couch next to him at four in the morning. She'd lasted much longer than he'd thought she would, but eventually she'd started nodding off, though she'd still resisted every time he insisted he knew she was tired. Why she'd felt obligated to stay up with him he hadn't a clue, though he truly appreciated the gesture. Instead of patronizing him for his imbedded fear of vengeful youkai during his human night, she had offered him a sense of security he hadn't felt since living with the taijiya.

"Didn't we just establish how I'm a powerful miko?" she'd asked him with a soft grin when he'd admitted his unshakable fear, assuring him that even though nothing evil could get past her barrier, that _if _something did, she was far from rusty with her powers. She had ofuda and knew how to use them, plus, if something really _big _showed up, she even had her old bow and a full quiver of arrows stashed away in the back of her closet.

He had been truly touched by her words of reassurance, though to be completely honest, for the first time in a really long time, this new moon Inuyasha found himself not really fearing a possible youkai attack. Her place still carried with it a sense of security, which he supposed had everything to do with her warding around the property. That was why, when her body finally gave in and caused her to fall asleep, he didn't begrudge her for it, nor did he wake her up.

Planning on letting her sleep-in while surprising her by fixing breakfast for them, himself, as a way of saying 'thanks for everything', the hanyou's plans were ruined at dawn. Immediately, upon the first pulse of youki to wash through him, Kagome roused, her miko senses powerful enough to alert her of her surroundings even in sleep. For some reason, that knowledge made him feel even more secure, realizing that had trouble actually somehow found them during the night, she most likely would have sensed it coming and woken up.

Immediately bouncing into an upright position and apologizing profusely for having fallen asleep in the first place, Inuyasha couldn't help but to chuckle at the girl's antics, even as his youki continued to pulse in time with his heartbeat, his youkai characteristics returning one by one.

Instantly feeling humiliated by how much of an emotional blabbermouth he had been the night before, Inuyasha sat at the edge of the couch, arms on his legs as he studied his feet, unsure of how he felt. Kagome's gentle hand on his shoulder followed by her soothing voice asking him with a playful twist if he needed coffee as badly as she did successfully broke the ice between them, and he offered her a small smile before following her into the kitchen.

Breakfast was less awkward than either of them had anticipated, except for the brief moment when Kagome made him blush down to his toes by proclaiming her relief that his 'cute' ears were back. She even managed to get in a quick tweak as she said the word cute, retracting her hand before he had time to bat it away, flushing at her attentions but otherwise not saying anything in protest. After finishing his meal, Inuyasha stood up and away from the table, declaring that he should 'probably get going', which functioned as a giant kick in Kagome's pants, informing her that it was now or never.

"You don't…have to leave just yet, if you didn't want to." she told him shyly, mentally kicking herself a second time for sounding like a nervous teenager all of a sudden.

He offered her a slight grin, but then stated realistically, "I need to save my money. I'd love to stay another night or two, but I really can't afford it."

She visibly grimaced at his words. It was so easy to forget that he was a paying customer, essentially no different from any of the other countless strangers she'd welcomed into her home only to send on their way again. So why did it _feel _so different with him?

_Because everything about him and this entire situation __is__ different, and you know it…_she argued with herself, scolding herself for dillydallying when he was already preparing to leave.

"What if I offered you a free room in exchange for work?" she asked him then, bound and determined to at least get her offer on the table.

He visibly hesitated at her offer, appearing to be caught somewhere in between wanting to accept and telling himself that he shouldn't. Was it because she was a young woman, instead of an old fisherman with poor eyesight? Was it because he could lower his guard around her, since she essentially knew everything about him by that point, and that notion scared him half to death because he'd never let another person under his shield like that since his fiancée of a century and a half prior?

She felt the same way, in a sense, if that were the case. For years she'd seen strangers come and go, and while she'd made nice, offering small talk and pleasantries, she'd never before been so open about herself or her own past. It wasn't really anybody's business how she'd come to acquire her own Bed and Breakfast at her age, after all, and she also wasn't delusional enough to believe that any of her guests truly cared, anyway. But with Inuyasha it was different, and she knew it was because he was a hanyou. Well, even when she'd thought he was a pure-blooded youkai, there had already been a kind of connection between them because she'd known – at least mostly – what he was, and so she'd felt it only right to share with him her own past in return. A kind of 'show me yours and I'll show you mine' with regard to their personal histories, since he'd pretty much had no choice but to reveal himself to her, considering her miko powers had more or less outted him.

"You don't have to decide right away." she added after a moment, when it appeared he wouldn't be able to give her an answer any time soon. "Why don't you stay for at least one more night, free of charge? Consider it my 'thank you' for trusting me with your secret. But I would like you to think about my offer, I mean it. While I'm doing _okay _by myself, I could certainly use the help, and I wouldn't force you to stick around whenever any other guests are present, if you'd rather make yourself scarce at those times. But when it's quiet, like now, not only could I use the company, but I could use a handyman who has experiencing fixing things."

That said, she shut her yap before it started to sound too much like she was begging him to stay, which was exactly how she felt. Whether he could sense her desperation or not, she couldn't be sure, but after what felt like an eternity, Inuyasha slowly nodded, a grin finding its way to his lips.

The truth was he was so happy he was in shock. While he still maintained the pessimistic realization in the back of his mind that this arrangement couldn't possibly last forever, he also realized that he would be a fool to outright turn down such an offer. He had learned long ago that he had to tackle life headfirst, one day at a time, and if he could wrestle himself up a new, steady place to live for at least a few months, for _free_, well…those would be a few _less _months from the total of his life in which he'd had to worry about finding himself a place to live. Yes, he was nervous about staying in her company for very much longer, primarily because of how rapidly he felt himself growing close to her, which was strictly against his policy, but in the end, the appeal of free shelter in an environment where he didn't have to worry about hiding his hanyou status easily won out over such concerns. He already liked Kagome, so he had already fucked up in that regard. Was it really so bad to allow himself a friendship again after so many years, so many _decades_ of solitude? Where was it written that he couldn't allow himself a few moments of happiness sprinkled into the crap hole that was his life? Besides, his policy about not allowing himself to grow too close to anyone was primarily based on the fact that he had to hide what he _was_, and Kagome already _knew _what he was, so logically that rule was null and void in this instance, anyway. True, he would undoubtedly have to leave her one day, for her own good, but he did not regret his time spent with the taijiya, nor with Kikyou, and he already knew that he would not regret his time spent with Kagome, either, be it days, months or years. Once it was over, he would look back on his time spent with her fondly; of that he was sure.

Agreeing to take her up on her offer, then, Inuyasha let her to believe that he meant only that he'd take her up on the offer of _thinking about_ her other offer, though he already knew he'd tell her yes. Smiling brightly, Kagome clapped her hands together before shooing him out of her kitchen, insisting she would take care of the dishes. She then planned on compiling a list of things that could use a little repair work around the inn, things that she had been putting off because they weren't immediately essential to the continuation of her business, and would also require paying somebody to do them for her since they were beyond what she could do all by herself. The sakura trees could all use some pruning, a couple of cracked tiles in the kitchen countertop needed to be replaced, the exterior of the house could use a fresh coat of paint, and the small storage shed out by the garden had a leaky roof.

Later that afternoon when she began telling Inuyasha of the various things she would be able to come up with for him to keep himself busy around the inn, he didn't have the heart to tell her that he could finish with all of those tasks in less than a week. It was clear to him that she just wanted him to stay, and that she was doing her best to find work for him so that he wouldn't feel like it was a charity case. While it was true that it would normally bother him, more than a little bit, to think of a woman such as Kagome feeling _sorry _for him, he knew that in reality she was just as starved for attention as he was. Hell, she had even admitted it straight to his face, that she could use a handyman, sure, but that she could also use the _company_. So, if she truly wanted him to stay for a while longer then he would stay for a while longer, simple as that. If being her 'company' was what she really wanted out of him, then that was a pretty easy gig, truth be told, and if he could actually get a few odd jobs done for her at the same time, well then that was just an added bonus as far as he was concerned. He certainly felt like she deserved his assistance, in that regard, considering all that she had given him in return, even _before _her offer to continue living under her roof free of charge. Just for accepting him as a hanyou, for not _fearing _him or finding him _disgusting_, he owed her everything. And so when he told her during dinner that night that he agreed, that he would stay with her for the time being, not putting any specific departure date on his stay, it was no wonder that the smile she sent his way had him blushing to his ears with its intensity. Upon her teasing him about it he insisted that he wasn't blushing, but rather, that the brightness of her smile had sunburned him. He loved the sound of her laughter.

For the next week things remained pretty much the same as they had been for the first three nights of his visit. When it turned out Kagome already had replacement tiles, mortar and grout for the kitchen counter he went ahead and got that little problem taken care of, but the painting would have to wait until after she purchased some, as would replacing the rotten roof planks on her garden shed. It would also be best for the sakura trees to be pruned during the winter, but he was nervous to voice such a thing aloud, apprehensive of just how long she was truly willing to let him stay with her. He would most certainly be willing to stay for that long, or even longer, but he just didn't want to get his hopes up. The 'not knowing' was killing him, though he maintained his backup plan, keeping his peace of mind with the fact that he was prepared. He could handle riding out Kagome's hospitality for however long it lasted when in the end, he would merely go back to the way things had been from before he'd met her. When it was finally time for him to move on, he would still have approximately seven months worth of hotel funds in his backpack, and his immediate plan was to head down south, back to Tokyo. He didn't need to think about that just yet, though.

Neither of them having forgotten about her other guests that were due to arrive the following weekend, Kagome left the final decision up to Inuyasha whether or not he wanted to stay with her throughout their stay. She would most certainly not kick him out, especially since she had two other guestrooms and would only need one of them for the young couple planning on staying there for two nights, but if he didn't want to risk complicating things if either of them happened to suspect he wasn't entirely human, he could make himself scarce for his own peace of mind and she wouldn't fault him for it.

Ultimately, Inuyasha decided to stay out in the woods over the weekend the other couple was with her, keeping himself occupied by playing with the kitsune that were equally as bored without their ability to be near their favorite human. The time apart truly got him thinking. What would he do once she got busy? Even if he stayed locked away in his room most of the time, and even if nobody ever suspected a thing regarding his heritage, he couldn't overlook the fact that while he took up space in one of Kagome's three guestrooms, that was one whole third of her annual income down the drain. If she was booked solid all throughout winter and into early spring, which she had already told him she usually was, then that meant that all _three_ of her rooms were in use at all times. Would he just move out to the woods near her home until after sakura season had passed? While that thought didn't really bother him all that much, considering a large part of him did love the forest, and always would, what about his human nights? What if she already had guests needing all three rooms and there wasn't a room available for him on that one particular night? Even though the area around her inn was safe because of her wardings and the kitsune, he couldn't stay out in the forest over night as a human in the middle of _winter_. He supposed they would cross that bridge when they came to it, as the saying went, pretty sure Kagome would do her best to think of something, but he absolutely hated the unknown, even when that unknown was over three months away. The reality of the matter was that he would probably have to move out before her busy season got started, meaning his time with her was limited, after all. Doing his best to take his mind off of it for the time being, though, the hanyou honed his senses, his ears turning to and fro. He was being watched. Smirking to himself, he let his 'predator' get a few meters closer, and then he pounced, the hunter becoming the hunted as Shippou let out a playful squeal, his tiger guise disappearing in a puff of pink smoke as he turned into his true fox form, darting off quickly through the trees as Inuyasha gave chase.

Of course, the hanyou wasn't the only one to find himself plagued with thoughts of the immediate future. His same concerns had also occurred to Kagome the first morning she found herself preparing breakfast for somebody other than the dog-eared man she had grown used to greeting every morning. Her distracted state of mind went completely unnoticed to her guests, who were polite enough even though it was fairly obvious they were far too interested in each other and their vacation plans to truly pay their host much more attention than thanking her for their breakfast. They made polite small talk while Kagome joined them for the morning meal, but as soon as they were done eating they excused themselves, heading out for the day to do some forest and local town exploration with the promise that they would be back that evening at a decent hour. Having the house all to herself for the time being, Kagome found herself realizing both that she already missed Inuyasha terribly, even though he hadn't really gone anywhere, and that come season, she wouldn't be able to afford leaving one of her rooms unrented. That meant there were only two truly logical solutions. One, Inuyasha really did need to move on, and while it would pain her for a time, she was sure she could get over it eventually, as would he. Two, and a solution that had her heart fluttering in her chest rather than sinking into her stomach, Inuyasha could share _her _room, at least for his human nights. That thought had her cheeks warming and her palms growing sweaty, though trying to calm her racing heart she reminded herself that there was no point in thinking that far ahead just _yet_. He'd only been staying with her for a week, after all. Maybe he would grow tired of her and _want _to move out before her busy season started.

Then again, maybe he wouldn't.

Well, she supposed she would cross that bridge when they came to it. She most certainly had no intention of kicking him out of her home indefinitely throughout her busy season. What did that say about their friendship? That she didn't mind him living with her so long as nobody else was around? That hardly seemed right. But…although he had assured her for this weekend that he truly did feel at peace out in the woods, and that he honestly felt more comfortable sticking to the trees rather than having to be around her other guests – and she was pretty sure that that would hold true even more so when all three of her rooms were rented out non-stop…she also knew from his own admittance that he could never stay out in the woods during his human night. Especially not during the winter, he'd freeze! So, if he truly wished to move out to the forest during her busy season because he didn't want to be around the steady flow of strangers, perhaps they could arrange a system that shortly before his transformation, on the nights of the new moon, he could sneak into her bedroom window, which she would leave open for him, and then he could sneak out again after dawn, leaving none of her guests aware of his presence. That was a compromise he would probably be willing to accept considering his drive for shelter during his human nights would most likely override any embarrassment he might feel over the perceived impropriety of him spending the night in _her_ room. On the other hand, such a notion might not even bother him at all, and she was the only one making a fool of herself with her racing hormones.

_Down girl_… she scolded herself lightly, deciding it was definitely best to hold off voicing this particular concern, and her possible solution, until after _he _brought it up. One day at a time.

Of course, it didn't take long for the days to blend into weeks, and the weeks into months. After the departure of that one young couple, Inuyasha regained temporary possession of his chosen bedroom in her home, as things went back to 'business as usual' throughout the rest of the summer. A few scattered times in autumn she had another guest or two, and again Inuyasha disappeared at those times, though he always remained close enough to the property that she could feel his presence, finding peace of mind in the fact that he hadn't truly left. He adopted a ritual similar to the kitsune, steering clear of her property whenever other humans were around, and though she assured him that he didn't _have_ to do it, she appreciated his reasoning once he explained to her how he just didn't want to risk tarnishing her reputation, if any of her other guests ever realized he wasn't human and word spread that she willfully harbored youkai. That could ruin her. While she wasn't quite as worried about such a possible outcome as he was, Kagome truly appreciated the fact that he was concerned for her well being in that regard. While humans with spiritual powers were few and far between, if somebody else who could sense youki ever happened to be a guest at her inn, they would recognize his demonic nature instantly, even if he had stayed locked in his room out of sight. Heading into the woods was definitely the safest choice. Even though he tried to stay within Kagome's sensing range, her spiritual powers were very strong, so another spiritual human probably wouldn't be able to feel him at that distance, and even if they could, feeling a faint hint of youki out in the forest was natural, and wouldn't put Kagome's reputation on the line.

Of course, she absolutely refused to take no for an answer when she invited him into town on Halloween, the risk of bumping into another spiritual human be damned. Truly, miko and houshi with any measurable powers were few and far between, and most of them lived in or around shrines and temples. Kagome was fairly certain that she was the only _local _miko of her little skiing community, so the risk was minimal, and eventually, Inuyasha relented. He was glad he did.

Inuyasha was familiar with the Western holiday, and had taken advantage of it in the past to walk the streets without worry, but this year was the first time he'd ever _truly _experienced the fun of the holiday for himself, as he went with Kagome into town and experienced his first Halloween party, one of the local bars hosting a costume contest. Deciding to wear his fire-rat robes, Tetsusaiga hanging proudly on his hip, he was quite the sight to see walking along side Kagome, who was dressed in a traditional blue yukata, but with a fake kitsune tail fastened to the back of it, and a pair of acrylic fangs adhered to her human canine teeth. While Inuyasha didn't join the costume contest – that hardly seemed fair, plus he didn't want to invite the humans to look upon him _too _closely – he had a good time dancing to the club music with Kagome. He had heard that type of music before, had observed that type of dancing before, during the few human nights he had spent walking the streets of Shibuya, but never before had he participated in such a thing. In this small city, at this small club, there were no 'bouncers' working the door, and the employees all seemed to know Kagome. Nobody asked to see his ID, even as she bought them both drinks at the bar. When he tried to protest, saying how she didn't need to be wasting her money on him like that when he knew she had to keep a tight budget, she waved off his concerns. Halloween was _in _the budget, she assured him, and while it was true that her tab would be twice as much as it usually was, he was going to save her so much money on not having to hire a gardener to trim the dead branches off her sakura trees come winter that she could _definitely _afford to buy him a few drinks.

That was the first time she'd made any direct comment to the fact that he would definitely still be with her come winter time, despite it being her busy season. Already he had been with her for two months and now he was guaranteed at least another two. Word hadn't been said about the sakura trees since the first day she'd handed him her to-do list. Now he realized that she'd known that task would have to wait until winter all along. She had since purchased new wood for him to repair the roof of her garden shed, which he had taken care of already, wanting to be sure it was done before the first snowfall. He had deliberately not said anything about the trees because he hadn't wanted to risk hurrying along his time with her if it was truly limited, and so instead, he'd spent his days helping her with everyday things, such as cleaning and weeding and hunting. Her freezer had yet to run out of rabbit meat since he'd moved in, and never again had she been forced to prepare the meat, either. He also brought her fresh fish on occasion, not that the quality in the local markets were lacking, but he looked at it as a way to save her some money. True, most of their food came from her garden, but some things, such as rice and noodles and tofu, she obviously had to buy, and if he was eating her food, he was costing her money. He could run at speeds beyond her imagination, and so even though there was no 'local' river for fishing, from a human's perspective, he could travel to the nearest one and back in less than an hour, the 'catch of the day' secured in the satchel slung over his shoulder.

To know now that she did indeed intend for him to still be with her come winter, despite it being her busy season, gave Inuyasha a warm feeling inside, realizing that she wasn't going to kick him out. Even though he was still unsure what they were going to do about his human nights, he wasn't worried, for once having faith that it would all work out without needing to have a plan in advance. Perhaps it was the slight buzz he felt tingling in his body, his half human status making him much more sensitive to alcohol than a full-blooded youkai would be, but in that moment Inuyasha decided to boldly point out how the sakura trees weren't the only chore he'd yet to get to from her original list.

"And then come spring, once the blossoms die out and your lingering guests all leave for the season, I can get to painting the outside of the inn like you wanted."

He hadn't really been putting that one off. She still hadn't bought the paint yet. The fact that he'd still been undecided about whether or not he would even still be living with her come spring was a minor detail that was conveniently forgotten in that moment as he made mention of the last to-do item from the list.

Kagome merely nodded, confirming her solid belief in the fact that he would, in fact, still be living with her come the end of her busy season. Then the miko furrowed her brow, as though she were trying to concentrate on something. She wasn't really drunk, but she was clearly buzzed, and for some reason he found her extra adorable in that moment.

"What is it?" he asked her playfully.

"I can't think of anything else for you to do after that. I'm out of fake reasons for you to stay." she admitted, her eyes widening when her sober-enough mind instantly realized precisely what she'd said.

He merely chuckled, even as her scent spiked mildly with apprehension.

"I don't need any 'fake' reasons to stay with you, Kagome. What's the _real _reason?" he asked her, his mirth unwavering.

Sighing, and offering him a shy smile, the miko admitted, "'Cause I want you to."

"Then, I'll stay." he assured her, his tone coming off with a strange vibe of finality.

The way she looked up at him in that moment, genuine happiness reflected in her stormy gray-blue eyes, Inuyasha felt the sudden urge to lean forward and kiss her, though he quickly got control of himself, blaming the alcohol and his weak human emotions as he silently cursed himself for the near fatal tactical error.

Over the last two months, he had found himself growing to care for Kagome immensely, but he was convinced she didn't see him the same way. Sure, he wasn't _blind_, and he understood what her occasional flustered moments around him meant, like the time she accidentally saw him shirtless as he'd been doing his laundry. He could only imagine her reaction had she walked in on him completely naked. Mentally, he chuckled at the memory. So okay, she was unarguably attracted to him. He would admit that his body wasn't that bad to look at, if you discounted the various things that branded him as a hanyou, and she was a young, healthy woman who hadn't been with a man in nearly seven years. It would have been odd for her to _not _find him attractive. Well no, that wasn't really true; the fact that she wasn't disgusted by his youkai blood…that was stranger, no doubt about it. But still, physical attraction and emotional attachment were two entirely different things, and he didn't dare to hope that she could actually come to think of him _that _way, and honestly, he wasn't even sure if he was ready to give another relationship a try, anyway. It wasn't so much that he was still damaged from Kikyou's words, but more so that Kikyou's words had been _true_. He _was _a half-breed, he _was _a freak of nature, and Kagome had already confessed that one of her deepest desires was to be a mother. While she believed it was becoming too late for her to have that type of a life, he disagreed. He didn't think she was too old to find herself a husband. The right guy would come along, one day, but _not _if she involved herself with a creature of youkai blood. Human society at large, they considered sleeping with a youkai a form of bestiality, and kami forbid she got pregnant. He was sure her dreams of having a 'family' didn't include a pack of white-haired crossbreeds. So he avoided the potential disaster by quickly turning his head and taking another sip of his beer, pretending the 'moment' had never existed.

As for Kagome, she was mentally kicking herself for having gotten her hopes up. She could have sworn it looked as though Inuyasha was about to kiss her, but she supposed she was just getting a little too buzzed for her own good. Quickly letting it go, she too took another sip of her drink, though she mentally vowed that it would be her last one of the evening.

The rest of the night went by without awkwardness, as they each easily slipped back into the comfortable friendship that had unarguably developed between them. While Inuyasha was hesitant to even dare fantasize about Kagome becoming anything _more _than a friend, he could throw the 'friend' word itself around without regret, both mentally and aloud. He'd already told Kagome how she'd completely obliterated his 'no friends' policy because she knew what he was, and therefore, he had no reason to want to hide anything from her. She was his friend…honest and truly…and he could admit that to both of them without a single trace of regret or apprehension. Now, whether or not she would ever become _more _than a friend…

_No! She deserves a normal life with a normal husband_…he reminded himself as he and Kagome headed outside, ready to call it a night.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't think of her as his _best _friend.

Kagome was just reaching into her sagemono for her cell phone, to call a taxi, when Inuyasha's clawed hand gently cupping her own had her heart leaping up into her throat, as she raised questioning eyes to meet his own mildly unsure gaze.

"Walk with me?" he asked her, and swallowing thickly, she nodded.

They walked together in silence for a couple of minutes until Inuyasha veered away from the sidewalk, heading down a dark alley.

"This way." he said with an unmistakably playful glint to his voice, and so feeling curious rather than nervous, she followed.

Once they were safely out of sight from any other passing humans, Inuyasha crouched down before her. "Hop on." he instructed. Best friends accepted each other fully, and if there was ever going to be any chance of Kagome thinking of him as her best friend in return, then she had to accept him _fully_. While he'd told her many things…seeing was believing.

Scrunching her brow, for an instant the miko thought to protest. She could walk on her own, thank you very much, not to mention the fact that she was wearing a _yukata _at the moment. But the playfulness, the…hopefulness…in his voice…somehow, Kagome knew this was much more than him merely trying to offer her a 'ride' home. So, against her better judgment, she stole a quick glance around their surroundings, and once she determined that they were in fact alone and nobody was going to witness whatever it was he had planned, she fiddled with her robe, loosening her skirt enough to pull the flaps to the sides, exposing her legs and enabling her to wrap them around his back. It was a little embarrassing, 'mounting' him as though he were a horse, especially with the only barriers between them being his own robes and her panties, but she had to admit, it didn't feel as awkward as she'd thought it would to feel herself settled on top of him. He then hooked his hands underneath her legs in a rather intimate fashion and asked her if she was ready.

Ready for what?

_Whatever it is…I'm ready…_ she decided, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Ready."

He _launched _them onto the roof of the building they had been standing beside. Kagome was so surprised and exhilarated that she forgot to scream, which was just as well since she quickly realized that she would _not _want to draw attention to themselves as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. They were literally flying over the small town…and then, they were in the trees, as he sprung them from branch to branch. The bottom half of her robe fluttered behind them like a cape, but they were moving much too fast for her to be worried over anyone catching a glimpse of something they shouldn't see. Truly, their entire _beings _were something that nobody should be allowed to catch a glimpse of, a woman riding upon a youkai, flying through the forest, but now that they were among the trees, there was no risk of anyone spotting them, save for the random drunken couple who had sought the shelter of the woods for a private encounter, and they would be too preoccupied in each other to notice anything out of the ordinary.

Once they were far enough away from civilization to not have to worry about being heard, Kagome cried out, though instead of a scream of terror, it was a hoot of joy that burst from her lips, as she cried out "Whoo hoo!" while he raced them across the treetops. Smirking to himself, Inuyasha relished in the sensation of Kagome pressed so intimately against him. But this wasn't a perverted act, and he would not allow his mind to take him in such a direction. He'd just wanted to show off some of his youkai abilities, and from the reaction of the girl upon his back, he would say it'd been a wise decision. There was not a single trace of fear anywhere to be had in Kagome's scent as she continued to whoop and holler as he raced from tree to tree. Reaching even greater heights, Inuyasha launched them as far up as his muscles could take them, soaring a good two hundred feet above the trees. The sensation of Kagome releasing her grip on his shoulders had him instinctively tightening his hold on her legs, for fear that she'd somehow lost her balance, but he had no worry that she would fall knowing that he had her and would never drop her. Catching their shadow in the moonlight, Inuyasha was awestruck as he realized Kagome shared his sense of security with his own abilities. She had not released her hold of him because her hands had slipped. Her arms were stretched outward at her sides, her head tilted back slightly as she fully engulfed herself in the sensation of flying.

Nearing her property, Inuyasha was reluctant for this moment to come to an end, though he knew they couldn't just run around all night long. She needed her sleep, after all, and it was already well beyond her usual bedtime.

"We're coming in for a landing!" he told her then, yelling over the roar of the wind zipping by their faces.

Opening her eyes, which she'd closed only in bliss and to keep the wind from tearing them up, Kagome spotted her inn almost immediately, but part of her wanted to tell him to keep going for a while longer. Still, she knew she didn't want to risk taking advantage of him, even though she suspected he wouldn't mind the request. He was having just as much fun as she was, she could tell, but the truth was that she _did _need to get to bed. Leaning forward then, she wrapped her arms back around his shoulders, gripping him securely once more, which Inuyasha was silently grateful for since he knew it might be a tad jarring for her as they landed. Hitting the ground, Inuyasha immediately broke into a run to absorb the impact, and the sensation was not as jostling for Kagome as he had worried, as he then came to a stop and straightened, allowing her to slide down from his back. Knowing her yukata was undoubtedly in disarray, he surprised but pleased her by not immediately turning to face her, as she quickly worked to straighten her robes, saving them both from a potentially embarrassing moment. After less than a minute, her voice thanking him for a lovely evening had him knowing it was safe to turn around.

Hair more than a little unkempt, and robes still crooked – though preserving her modesty well enough – Kagome had never looked more beautiful to him than she did in that moment. And was she suddenly getting closer? Was she lowering her eyelids?

"You're…uh, you're welcome." he answered lamely, heat rushing to his face though she couldn't see his blush in the low moonlight as he quickly turned away and opened the door for her.

Silently entering the house, Kagome left her sandals in the genkan, which had remarkably stayed on her feet throughout their journey, and having allowed Inuyasha to go barefoot as part of his 'costume', she said nothing as he silently wiped the bottoms of his feet to the best of his ability against his pant legs before following her inside.

"Goodnight, Inuyasha." she bid softly before heading down the hall to her bedroom.

"Goodnight." he called after her, his heart still pounding heavily in his chest, matching the rapid beating of her own heart, which he could still hear even from all the way down the hall. He tried to tell himself that her reaction was only from the run, but he knew better. He hadn't missed the way she'd almost kissed him for a second there after thanking him for the evening. Maybe taking her for a run hadn't been a good idea, after all. Heading quietly into his bedroom, he cursed the alcohol for a second time. Twice in one night they had almost kissed, and both times he had been the one to stop it from happening. True, back at the bar he had also been the one who'd initiated the near-kiss in the first place, and it must not have gone unnoticed to the miko if she had turned around and tried to rekindle what had sparked for a second between them. So much for convincing himself that she didn't have any romantic feelings for him.

_No more booze_… he thought with a nod of finality, crawling into bed with worries for what awkwardness tomorrow might bring.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

As Kagome lied in bed, once again staring unblinkingly up at the ceiling, one thought continually echoed in her head above all others.

She had feelings for Inuyasha.

And even more than that, she heavily suspected that he had feelings for her, in return. So what did that mean? Where did it leave them? He hadn't spoken much of Kikyou since that first moonless night, but they'd had enough private talks since that night for her to know that he had never cared for another woman since her. He had never _allowed _himself to care for another woman since her. He'd told Kagome once, upon confessing that he truly did think of her as a friend, that the only reason he always tried to keep himself locked away inside was because of society's view of his kind. When you were secretly a monster having to hide what you were among the normal humans of the world, it was kind of hard to grow truly close to anyone else, and Kagome could easily understand that. But with her, it was different. With her, he didn't have to hide what he was. He didn't really _want _to be a loner.

While she hadn't been the first, by a long shot, to recognize that he was of demonic blood from the instant she'd met him, Kagome _had _been the first to exude an attitude of indifference with regard to that knowledge. She had been the first to not immediately narrow her eyes at him and demand that he move on, leaving her be. He'd experienced every kind of rejection under the sun, from people being terrified of him, fearfully begging for him to leave them in peace, to outright threats that he had better be gone before they called the taijiya in to 'take care' of him, but never…_never _had he met someone, young woman or otherwise, who had known that he was a youkai but had then proceeded to tell him that he was still welcome. That they did not hate or fear _good _youkai, which they could tell that he was.

After accepting the milestone that was Kagome's acceptance of _him_, Inuyasha had immediately begun fearing what her reaction would be to learning that he was truly a _hanyou_, terrified of losing what little acceptance he'd found. Surely even someone who was okay with youkai as a whole would still not approve of mixing the races, right? But Kagome had surprised and delighted him a second time with her continued acceptance of him yet again, first learning of his human blood, and then of his human transformations. He'd even confessed to her one night that he could also transform into a bakemono, his youkai blood rising to the surface and overpowering his human heart and mind, though he'd also assured her that it only happened under extreme circumstances, and that it was not something that would ever happen on a whim. Kagome _still _accepted him.

As she continued to think about him, about the half inu-youkai man currently in the room just down the hall from her own, Kagome found that she could not think of him as a 'monster' no matter how hard she tried. He was a man; a kind, sweet, _lonely _man who'd been dealing with the short end of the stick for far too long. But she did not truly pity him. She _admired _him, his strength…she didn't honestly think that she would have been able to survive for as long as he had were she in his place. She also didn't find his demonic qualities a turn off, were she to be frank. Truth be told, she thought his silver hair and amber eyes were ethereal and mysterious. She found him extremely handsome. She wasn't afraid of his claws or fangs, and those ears? Kagome couldn't believe she'd actually managed to go for two whole months without molesting them again even once! Several times over the last eight weeks she'd found herself itching to touch them a second time, especially since that one tweak after his first human night had been so brief she could barely even remember what they felt like, but she didn't want to risk making him feel uncomfortable, knowing that he was sensitive about the appendages that branded him as a crossbreed, and so she let it go unmentioned.

As their conversation from earlier at the bar replayed itself in her mind, as she'd confessed to merely wanting him to stay with her, and his subsequent agreement to stay simply because she wanted him to, Kagome could not stop the butterflies that started swirling in her stomach. No longer was there the worry over whether or not he'd leave once her busy season picked up. Yes, he might stick to the forests for a few months while all three of her guest rooms were full night after night, but then once the snow melted and her guests departed he'd be back.

Now the only question that remained was in what capacity would he be staying with her? As her friend? As a roommate, perhaps? Or something more?

_Everything in life happens as it is meant to, but what if you're __meant__ to intervene, and merely sitting around waiting for something to happen without trying to __make__ it happen only means that it won't happen at all?_

Worrying her bottom lip, Kagome remembered Inuyasha telling her how his old Buddhist friend had taught him the belief of all things happening for a reason, and that all things happened as they were meant to. But did that really mean that you were just supposed to sit back and watch? After all, there was still such a thing as free will. Though the kami might show us the path they wished for us to take, Kagome truly believed that it was up to us to open any doors that might be blocking our way. She already knew, had she not extended her invitation for Inuyasha to remain, he would have been gone that third morning, and she would have almost definitely never seen him again, probably for the rest of her life. Though he had since told her that he had already wanted to stay, himself, even before her invitation, he'd also admitted that he wouldn't have said anything about it, he wouldn't have dared. Too many life lessons learned the hard way. So it'd been up to her, and her alone. She had been gifted the opportunity, but it had been up to her to act accordingly, and to seize the gift for what it was. Everything happened as it was meant to, yes, but she had been _meant _to ask him to stay with her. So now, as she continued to gaze up at her ceiling, Kagome realized that once again the choice was hers to make, and she knew she was prepared to intervene again, for both their sakes.


	4. Intervening Destiny

Chapter 4 – Intervening Destiny

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"Faster!" Kagome cried out, her eyes closed in bliss as she tightened her grip on Inuyasha's shoulders.

"Keh." he replied, his tone full of amusement as he gave his next spring an extra kick, launching them from treetop to treetop with the speed of a Cheetah and the precision of a flying squirrel.

"You're gonna want your eyes open for this one!" the hanyou called out after a moment, somehow sensing that the miko on his back had her eyes closed, though he knew it was not from a fear of heights.

"Oh wow…" she breathed, daring to open her eyes against the sting of the wind zipping by them to spy the utterly magnificent sight before her.

Suddenly her eyes were wide open, the wind seemingly unaffecting her gaze as she stared down at the beautiful landscape below. Inuyasha had taken them both to a secret spot of his; someplace he'd stumbled upon while exploring back when he'd first ventured into her neck of the woods. Sailing high above a cascading waterfall, Inuyasha skillfully leapt from tree to tree, gradually slowing his pace with each step until he could hit the ground running, coming to a stop and letting the miko off his back as they stood in a field of flowers overlooking the waterfall.

"Inuyasha…it's beautiful." Kagome whispered in awe, absolutely stunned to realize there were still remote places as gorgeous as this one left completely untouched by man.

_Not as beautiful as you_, the hanyou thought, though he didn't dare voice something like that out loud.

"Keh."

Sighing quietly to herself, Kagome prayed for the atmosphere of what was truly the perfect setting to help her find the courage to voice her thoughts on recently made self-discoveries. For the first couple of days since Halloween nothing had changed between them, their daily routines going by as usual while Kagome continued to run her thoughts around in her head. But today, on Culture Day, she had miraculously gotten brave enough to ask Inuyasha if he wanted to do anything in honor of the national holiday. It was the perfect excuse to exploit the holiday as their reasoning for breaking with the norm. In celebration of freedom and artistic creativity, Inuyasha had surprised Kagome by smirking at her question, and telling her that if she was brave enough, he did indeed have something in mind that they could do in honor of the holiday. Immediately recognizing the playfulness of his challenge, instead of feeling nervous, Kagome had put her hands on her hips and told him to bring it on. That was how she'd found herself to be riding on his back soaring high above the trees. Inuyasha had teased that he'd never said his idea had had anything to do with honoring _human _culture.

That he was so willing to open up to her in such a way, to show off his youkai abilities and share with her an experience normally reserved solely for his kind, once again she felt both humbled and honored. While it had been weird riding on his back, at first, she'd gotten used to it quickly enough, already having come to thoroughly enjoy the experience by the time they'd made it back to her home on Halloween night. So it came as no surprise when only three days later, when Inuyasha had squatted before her and instructed that she hop on, she had done so, literally, earning a chuckle from the half-dog man as he hooked his hands under her legs. It helped that she was currently wearing jeans, which made the moment a little less awkward sexually, since it was unquestionably intimate to straddle his back in such a way, even for the purpose of transportation.

Bringing her thoughts back into the here and now, Kagome turned and offered Inuyasha a brilliant smile in gratitude for bringing her to such a beautiful place.

"Inuyasha…" she started after a moment.

"Yeah?" he asked, turning away from the waterfall to give her his full attention.

"About…when my inn gets busy come winter…" she began, only to get cut off with an understanding shake of his head.

"Don't worry about it." he told her, brushing off her concerns. "I know you'll need all three rooms. I can head out into the woods for a few months or whatever, ain't no big deal."

"But, what about the nights of the new moon?"

He merely shrugged.

The truth was, it was a lingering uncertainty that was still bothering him more than a little bit, but for the time being he was simply trying to enjoy his time with Kagome without letting his usual pessimistic paranoia get the better of him. Inuyasha had been relieved beyond words when the following morning after Halloween Kagome had greeted him normally as she'd puttered around in the kitchen fixing breakfast, as though nothing awkward had occurred between them the night before. Immediately letting the duel near-kiss moments fall into a deliberately neglected pocket of memory where he could pretend the events had never happened, Inuyasha had been happy to assist Kagome with weeding her garden and preparing his latest catch for that night's dinner. Their established routine repeated itself the following day without incident, though today, he was admittedly overjoyed by Kagome's reaction to his suggestion and action upon her inquiry of whether or not he wanted to do anything special in honor of Culture Day. Truth be told, he didn't really give a rat's ass about most human holidays, but if it could function as an excuse to spend some time with Kagome away from her duties at the inn then he was all for it. He didn't fear it would lead to any more 'awkward' moments…he wouldn't let it. But as her friend, he wanted to spend time with her and share with her whatever wonders he could, and while he had been relieved that their routine together had immediately been 'business as usual' without any lingering awkwardness from Halloween, he would've been lying through his teeth if he'd said that her offer of spending the holiday with him away from the inn hadn't been music to his hears. If Kagome wanted to experience his 'culture' then he was all for it, and having known of the perfect place to bring her, he'd immediately issued the challenge. One he had known she would accept without a hint of hesitation.

And speaking of the unhesitant miko, she was frowning at him in that moment, her brows furrowed together in unconcealed disapproval at his noncommittal reply.

"Inuyasha, I don't think we should push it until the last minute to try and figure out what to do with you during your human nights." she said. "We both know you can't stay out in the forest, and even though anywhere on my property would be safe for you because of the barrier, I'm hardly going to banish you to the storage shed."

Sighing, Inuyasha met Kagome's eyes understandingly before confessing to the only solution he could honestly see.

"I'll just have to go somewhere else for those nights, just like I did before meeting you. I've still got enough money on me for several more nights in some other hotel somewhere. Then once your guests all leave I could come back if you still wanted me to."

Relenting that it was a logical solution, that didn't mean Kagome had to like it. Besides, there was a flaw in his logic.

"But how is that fair to you, truly? It's okay for you to be my friend and to live at my inn only so long as nobody else is around?"

He opened his mouth to protest but Kagome silenced him with a raise of her hand.

"Yeah, I know…you're concerned for my sake, in case word should get out that I harbor youkai. I appreciate your concern, but your solution is temporary at best. Even assuming you can find yourself lodging elsewhere without issue, which we both know you were having difficulty with since most places these days require IDs and credit cards, what will you do when you run out of money? Staying with me for free, it's not costing you anything, but you're not earning yourself any new money, either, and I can't afford to rent hotel rooms for you."

"I would never ask you to pay for a hotel room for me." Inuyasha stated immediately.

"I have a solution that wouldn't cost either of us a single yen."

Raising an eyebrow at the way Kagome's cheeks immediately darkened at her statement, Inuyasha wasn't sure he wanted to know, asking hesitantly, "Y-yeah?"

Clearing her throat, Kagome stated with conviction, "You could share _my _room."

His cheeks flared at her words, darkening to match the fire-rat robes he was currently wearing.

"Uh…"

"Just think about it." Kagome spoke up before he could argue. "You're the first true friend I've had since moving out of Tokyo, and I know for you it's been far longer. I do consider you my friend, Inuyasha, although as my friend you deserve total honestly, and I…well, if I am to be completely honest with you, I…like you, a lot. I would be open to the idea of us becoming _more _than friends."

"Kagome…" he sighed, having feared this moment would come. "I…don't think that's a good idea."

Hurt, a little, but still feeling a bit of optimism in that he didn't outright reject the possibility or tell her he didn't feel the same way, Kagome knew that the last thing she wanted to do was risk damaging their friendship by pushing him into something he wasn't ready for. At least by letting him know how _she _felt she'd taken the necessary step on her part to ensure she didn't just sit back to wait and see if anything ever happened between them. She could only imagine that he would be reluctant to approach her with feelings of his own if he feared that _she _could never see _him _that way, so now he wouldn't have that worry, at least. Hopefully, Inuyasha would also have the courage to take the steps necessary to make his own destiny, but that was a concern for another time. Presently, the concern of what to do regarding his human nights during the months her inn would be booked solid was a legitimate issue, regardless of their current relationship status.

"Well…my feelings for you are not going to change…" she began, mentally grimacing at the way he visibly cringed, as if afraid of how to reject her without hurting her feelings. Still…being a miko meant that she had a special knack for reading people, and she couldn't miss the sad longing in the back of his eyes, as if his answer was no but at the same time he wished that it wasn't. "But I don't want to weird you out or strain our friendship…" Kagome quickly continued then, figuring it would be best for the time being to focus on the more important issue at hand. She could psychoanalyze Inuyasha's emotions another day. "So you are my friend, first and foremost, and if that's all you want to be, then that's all you'll be. But as my friend, I will _not _kick you out of my home, Inuyasha, especially not during your human nights. If you choose to spend most nights out in the forest during my busy season, that is your prerogative, but you would be welcome at anytime, whether or not somebody might have suspicions regarding your youkai blood. I understand where your concerns along those lines are coming from, but I have a lot of repeat cliental who I don't think would turn on me for suspecting such a thing. At the very least, if you came back one night a month during the new moon, you could sneak in through my window shortly before sunset. As my friend, my bedroom is your sanctuary, Inuyasha. It doesn't have to mean anything more. I have a TV in my room, after all, so in truth it would be no different from our other new moons together, staying up and watching TV all night. And hell, if you're worried about somebody else sensing your youki, then you don't even have to sneak in through the window. You could just wait until after sunset and stroll right on in through the front door for all I care, hanging out for dinner until it's time to go to bed."

He snorted at that, an amused smirk creeping up the edges of his lips.

"And let your guests think you had some sort of sordid love affair going on? That some traveling businessman came to meet you one night a month? They would probably assume I was married and cheating on my wife with you."

It was Kagome's turn to merely shrug at his words.

"Let 'em think whatever they want." she replied after a moment, having given the matter some genuine thought and deciding that she didn't care. "That's certainly a less harmful rumor than word getting out that I 'harbor youkai', as you put it." she pointed out. "I don't _agree _with society, but I'm not stupid. I _did _ask Shippou-chan and the others to steer clear of the inn whenever I have guests…"

Pausing a moment to truly think about her own double standard, Kagome suddenly developed a strong look behind her eyes that caught Inuyasha off guard.

"Maybe I should revoke that policy, as well."

"What are you saying?"

"If you're so worried about my reputation as an Inn Keeper who favors youkai, maybe I should play up that angle, instead, build a shrine to Inari and allow the kitsune's presence to be known. Most people do not fear kitsune and I doubt it would hurt my income very much. While I might lose some customers, I might very well gain some others, people actually wishing to interact with the kits. Then if Yukiyama Inn became known for being youkai-friendly, you wouldn't have to worry about somebody suspecting you weren't entirely human, yourself.

"Youkai friendly and _hanyou _friendly are two very different things."

"So keep your hat on. I'm not going to 'out' you as a hanyou."

He just blinked at her, completely taken aback by all she'd said. By _all _she'd said, though he was relieved she had let _that _part of the conversation go without a struggle. He just…wasn't ready, and besides, he was firm in his conviction that to give in to his desires would be condemning her to a life of ridicule and scorn. He couldn't do that to her. He _did _have feelings for Kagome, and it was for that reason that he couldn't allow anything to happen between them. He didn't honestly think he'd ever be ready for that kind of a relationship, unless the universe suddenly shifted and hanyou were welcomed among humans with open arms. How _could _he ever have a normal relationship, being a half-man/half-beast monster in a world that would either banish him, kill him, or lock him away for the purposes of 'science' if he ever got caught trying to live as a human?

But that glum outlook on life aside, the fact that Kagome was so openly willing to consider him such a true, dear friend…

"You'd…you'd really be willing to…to openly accept youkai in the face of persecution, just for my sake?"

"Times have changed, Inuyasha, and I don't think I would receive as harsh of criticism as you fear, but yes, I would."

"What if your business disappears and your Bed and Breakfast fails?"

She shrugged again.

"I know Obaa-chan would be proud of me for standing up for what I believe in. I wouldn't be homeless because I still own the Higurashi Shrine back in Tokyo, and we could just relocate there, dismissing the stand-in shrine keepers."

"W-we?"

Blushing again, Kagome suddenly realized that it was rather presumptuous of her to assume he would be willing to move to Tokyo just to continue living with her, but then again, it would still mean free room and board as far as he was concerned, so why wouldn't he? So they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, they were _friends_, and he had already told her three nights ago that he would stay with her simply because she wanted him to. That was proof enough that he at least honestly returned her friendship, if he didn't have any desire to be away from her and was therefore so willing to remain in her presence upon her request.

The hanyou was lost in similar thoughts, realizing that he would indeed relocate to Tokyo with her if she were ever forced to make such a move, especially since he had already planned on Tokyo being his immediate destination when and if things had ever stopped working out with her.

_I guess all things really do happen as they were meant to… _he thought then, smirking a bit in memory of his old friend Miroku. The monk would've told him to give a relationship with Kagome a try. Maybe…one day…but he would give her _plenty _of time to realize what a horrible mistake choosing him would really be.

Shaking his head with a silly grin climbing its way up his lips, Inuyasha finally relented to her proposition. The one about the new moon, that is.

"Okay, I suppose I can crash in your room during the new moon, just…don't do anything foolish in the public eye, like announcing your allegiance with forest youkai."

Chuckling a bit, Kagome stuck out her hand to be shook in the Western tradition as she stated "Deal." grinning when Inuyasha shook her hand firmly in contract.

It was less than two months later, on Christmas Eve of all nights, that they found themselves coping with the awkward 'just friends' arrangement of her solution for the first time. With the first snowfalls starting in late autumn Kagome had already started to notice a rise in business, and she was always booked solid for Christmas Eve, since young couples liked to get away for a night of fairytale romance in the enchanted setting that was her secluded patch of forest. It was only a coincidence, though unfortunately an unavoidable one, that this year, Christmas Eve fell on the night of the new moon.

Even as the late autumn nights had continued to grow colder and colder, during the increasingly frequent occasions that Kagome had a guest for a night or two, Inuyasha had had no problem slipping out into the darkness, sticking to the forest like the kitsune, but Kagome was right, there was no way he could stay outdoors during his human night. Not even within the safety of her barrier…not with the current nighttime temperatures.

Apprehensive over whether or not any of her guests might just possess the ability to sense youki, Inuyasha chose to wait until after sunset to make his approach. Feeling beyond awkward, he approached her front door and entered as if he had every right in the world to be there, which in reality he did, although it still felt like he was an outsider while the place was echoing with the conversation and laughter of her other guests. Because the days were shorter now, they hadn't yet eaten. Just getting ready for dinner, Kagome had prepared her guests for his appearance by mentioning casually that a friend of hers would be joining them. Nobody really cared all that much about the Inn Keeper's personal business and so nobody commented beyond polite Okay's of acknowledgment. When Inuyasha walked in, Kagome was thankfully there to greet him warmly once he entered the main living room, saying "I'm so glad you could make it!" like he was an old friend she hadn't seen in ages. Not knowing what to say to play along he merely answered "Keh." and Kagome then went on to tell him that dinner would be ready shortly.

Noticing after only a few minutes that nobody seemed to be paying his appearance any attention after the polite introductions were over, as the three couples present all seemed to be into each other much more than Kagome's business, Inuyasha felt some of the tension melt out of him as he relaxed, truly enjoying his chicken dinner. Kagome's homemade Christmas Cake was also wonderful, though the seasonal desert reminded the hanyou-turned-human of her previous dig regarding her upcoming twenty-sixth birthday, back from when they'd first met. It was an old, derogatory term used to refer to women over twenty-five, calling them Christmas Cake, since the pastry expired on that date. As delicious as Christmas Cake was, nobody wanted any after the 25th, any left-over unsold cakes in the stores going bad as nobody would buy them. Supposedly, nobody wanted a woman over twenty-five years old, either, though he wasn't so sure he believed in that statistic. Her birthday was another couple of months away yet, but he did not truly believe that she would 'spoil' on that day. There was a man out there for her, somewhere, there had to be. How could anyone not want Kagome? Ignoring the pang he felt in his heart at the thought, Inuyasha continued to eat his meal in silence.

With each of her guests fortunately retiring to their separate rooms shortly after dinner, no doubt for some quality 'alone' time with their chosen partners, it was with a light blush staining his nose and cheeks that Inuyasha allowed Kagome to lead him back into her own bedroom. In the nearly four months that he had been living with her, he had seen inside her bedroom before, on several occasions in fact, Kagome often leaving the door open as she dusted or put away her laundry. Many times they had spent most of the day talking while she'd been going about her daily chores, and Inuyasha had found himself in her room on more than one occasion, chitchatting with the miko about whatever they happened to be discussing while she changed her linens or dusted the furniture. He didn't just sit back and watch, of course, often helping her with her chores. In fact, since Inuyasha had moved in Kagome had not once cleaned a single window, Inuyasha adopting that, and several other of the more 'manly' chores around the inn. He had stated that it was the least he could do to earn his keep since she was letting him stay with her for free, and Kagome hadn't bothered to protest, honestly appreciating the assistance.

So walking into Kagome's bedroom in and of itself was not awkward for Inuyasha on that night, but for some reason, the notion of actually sharing her bed was making him extremely uncomfortable. Kagome didn't have any other furniture in her bedroom that could be used for sleep, no couch or chair for him to stay on, and the floor was out of the question. Not that Inuyasha ever slept during his human night, anyway. Kagome had already told him that she didn't mind staying up with him, and that he could sit up in bed with her and they could watch TV. She had tried to make the matter as unawkward as possible, and he appreciated her effort, but he had never before sat on Kagome's bed, finding that particular piece of furniture just a bit too intimate to touch, and approaching it now, his cheeks flamed as he placed his hand upon the comforter.

"It's not going to bite you." Kagome teased, giggling behind her hand at the way he jumped at her words, spinning around as though he'd been caught doing something highly inappropriate.

"Inuyasha, relax. Sheesh, it's not like I'm going to rape you."

For some reason, her crude sexual joke actually relaxed him. His attraction to her notwithstanding, Kagome was his friend, first and foremost.

"Keh, don't sound so disappointed." he dared tease in return, earning himself another laugh from the girl who hadn't once mentioned anything of her stronger feelings for him since Culture Day. He was sure her feelings for him hadn't changed since then, but the fact that she was willing to continue on with their friendship unaltered meant a lot to him. Kagome then climbed into bed and he easily followed suit, the pair taking up residence above her blankets as she grabbed the remote and clicked on her TV.

Staying up with him all night during the new moon had become a tradition Kagome had mastered, no longer falling asleep as she had that first night. But this was the first new moon in which she had other guests sleeping under her roof. She would need to get up early in order to fix them breakfast. Upon voicing this concern, Kagome waved off his worries stating that she simply didn't plan on getting any sleep at all. It wasn't going to kill her to miss one night of sleep a month.

"Besides," she added with a smirk, "Isn't the rumor going to be that you're my lover who travels here once a month on 'business' away from his wife and kids? If I'm dead on my feet the following morning like I didn't get much sleep, that won't really seem unexpected, now will it?"

"Oh, so now I'm a deadbeat dad too, instead of just a cheating husband?" he asked, sending her a playful wink.

"I'm sure you'd make a wonderful father." Kagome stated unexpectedly, a light pink dusting her nose as she immediately focused her attention on the remote control in her hands, flipping through the channels rapidly.

He wasn't sure what to say after that that wouldn't make the moment even more awkward, so he waited until Kagome paused on a potential TV program, chuckling lightly at the people on the screen and telling her that that show would do just fine for now. It was some comedic interview show, and while he had no idea who the people were being interviewed, or really who the host even was, he didn't care. With the awkwardness of the moment behind them, Inuyasha found himself honestly enjoying Kagome's company, his human emotions rearing their ugly head, but in a manageable setting. The rest of the night went by uneventfully, Kagome and Inuyasha chuckling quietly at the random things they found interesting to watch during such odd hours of the night. Once dawn made its pending arrival known with the brightening of the Eastern sky, Kagome and Inuyasha each tiptoed their way back out into the living room, under the pretence of her seeing him off just on the off chance of one of her other guests already being awake. With the coast clear, Inuyasha ventured out past the hibernating vegetable garden, finding a secure spot to crouch out of sight behind the shed for the three minutes it took the sun to breech the horizon. Transforming back into his hanyou self he hightailed it out of there in case one of her guests was a spiritualist. If they were, then they would've only gotten a random glimpse of youki, a phenomenon that was not all that uncommon in a place so close to the forest.

Sighing in relief at the feel of his youki's return immediately followed by its departure, knowing it meant that he had safely reentered the surrounding woods in his hanyou form, Kagome headed into the kitchen to begin that day's breakfast preparations.

**o0o**

_How do I fucking get myself into these situations? _

"And what do you do for a living, Yoshi-san?"

It was the first name he could think of that was even remotely similar to his own. He didn't want to risk picking a fake name he'd forget halfway into the night.

"Freelance handyman and landscaping."

No sense in complicating things with unnecessary lies he would need to remember later, as well.

"Do you have a business card?"

_What businessman in Japan *doesn't* have a business card? Oh wait, that's right, __me__…" _the hanyou-turned-human thought sarcastically, stating apologetically to the woman, "I'm afraid I just ran out."

Fortunately, the woman he'd been speaking with walked away after that, no doubt finding him unprofessional if he had allowed himself to run out of business cards. For a second there, he had been worried she was going to ask him for his cell phone number instead, since she had pulled out her phone and glanced at it before politely excusing herself. Spotting Kagome from across the room and signaling her with his eyes that he needed help, the hostess of the evening politely excused herself from her present conversation after a moment to make it back to Inuyasha's side.

Things were always crazy during the winter season, and this year was no exception. While the ski lodges further into town usually housed the teenagers wanting to taste fresh powder, her classical 'at home' feeling usually drew small families wishing for their children to experience snow for the first time, while _avoiding _the crazy ruckus of skiers and snowboarders. It was just a little past sunset on the evening of the new moon and Kagome had a full house, two families with children and one elderly couple completely maxing out her occupancy, and then some. While making sure the kids were all settled in front of the TV with one of the mothers, Inuyasha had ended up finding himself trapped in conversation with the other one, though the woman had seemed friendly enough, just trying to be polite since Inuyasha wasn't hanging out with the other guys. Of course, there was a reason for that, but the hanyou wasn't so rude as to tell the woman to her face to leave him alone, and so he'd fumbled through the best he could, relieved that it was over now as she joined the other mother and their children watching television while Kagome joined him by his side.

"How are you holding up?" she asked him, smiling in sympathy when he responded with a noncommittal "Feh."

"It's almost over." she assured him, in reference to the time he had to spend 'socializing' with her other guests.

Later at dinner Kagome merely introduced 'Yoshi' as her friend to those who hadn't yet officially met him, and once again nobody seemed to care, which made it three for three since their first new moon together in the company of strangers back on Christmas Eve. Kagome occasionally still kicked herself for having let the majesty of the romantic holiday pass them by unexploited, but even though she knew what she wanted and knew that it was up to her to get it, she also didn't want to push Inuyasha into anything he wasn't ready for. She had already told him that she would like to be more than friends, and he'd said he didn't think it was a good idea. Of course, that wasn't a _no_, she reminded herself, although it definitely wasn't a _yes_, either. There was no doubt in Kagome's mind by that point in time that she was in love with him, but it was for that very reason that she wouldn't shove her feelings in his face if he honestly didn't feel the same way. She was certain that Inuyasha knew she still had those types of feelings for him, although she supposed it was possible he presumed it was just a silly crush on her part. At first, she had honestly found herself wondering the same thing, back when she'd first started to notice how much he seemed to mean to her. Kagome had allowed herself the time necessary to know with finality whether or not her developing feelings for him were legitimate or merely a symptom of her loneliness. By the time Halloween had come around, there had no longer been any doubt in her mind; she knew she loved him. As for his feelings for her, she couldn't be certain, but she was still suspicious that he too felt something deeper for her than friendship. But merely _having_ certain feelings and feeling able to act upon them were two very different things, and Kagome understood that. While the miko did believe that it was up to her to open the door, nowhere was it written that you had to crash through any closed doors in your path going a hundred miles an hour, ramming them open with your shoulder and stumbling through without looking and without thinking of the consequences. She would be the one to open the closed doors before her, but she would do so slowly and carefully, peaking inside to make sure there was nothing on the other side not yet ready for her to see it. She did believe he had feelings for her, but she also knew he wasn't ready to reveal them just yet. Crashing inside unexpectedly could have dire consequences, including her getting thrown out and having the proverbial door slammed shut in her face. Perhaps if she merely knocked on the door on occasion, then one day, he would open it for her himself, inviting her in.

Retiring to bed that night happened peacefully, despite the ruckus of the full house. Perhaps his fears over a rumor starting regarding Kagome's loose morals had been ungrounded, after all. Whatever the case may be, nobody seemed to care when things began winding down for the evening and he didn't yet appear to be leaving, instead helping their hostess tidy up in the kitchen. If some people were still awake when he and Kagome retired for the evening, hearing him follow her into her bedroom, nobody said anything about it the following morning. Or at least, Kagome didn't admit to him that anybody had said anything the following morning, since he was obviously not there to have faced the guests himself. He was never there to face the music with her guests the 'morning after', not that such a notion would've kept him away if he could've otherwise been there. It was always possible that an early riser could be outside enjoying a cigarette or something and completely catch him in the act of 'sneaking' out, but it was a small risk and one he was willing to take. The greater danger was staying past his transformation; he could not risk any of her guests sensing the return of his youki, so leaving in the predawn light while he was still human was a necessity, whether or not he might ever one day get 'caught'.

Having gotten used to the idea of staying up with Kagome on his human nights, watching TV in her bedroom, by the time winter started hinting at spring with the appearance of cherry blossoms, Inuyasha was actually looking forward to the moonless night rather than dreading the awkwardness it had once entailed. After all, during her business season he only got to see her on those few nights, and only seeing her for one night a month, and even having to share her with others for the first part of those nights, was something he definitely found less than favorable. Still, what could he do? He absolutely refused to risk exposing himself as a youkai in front of her guests, for her sake, not his own. But so since he couldn't transform himself into a human at will, that left him out of options except to wait until his human night during the busy part of the year. The rest of the time, he kept himself occupied by playing with the kitsune. He suspected they had since become aware of his monthly transformation, themselves, since it was kind of hard to miss for any being who could sense youki within a reasonable distance, though the foxes did good by never mentioning it if they did know. There had even been a few times that he and Shippou had ventured outward on a perimeter sweep, sometimes discovering a lowly, creepy youkai that he would then disband before it could become a problem, encroaching so close to human territory. The fox cub definitely didn't have a problem with him being half human, and Shippou had even admitted to admiring Inuyasha's strength at those times, stating that he hoped to one day become as strong as him. It was true that Inuyasha's youki was stronger than all of the young kitsune combined, but it was not impossible for a single fox to grow as strong as he was. Kitsune daiyoukai were rare, but not impossible, and ruffling up the boy's hair, he'd told Shippou that he had faith in him to one day become a nine-tailed fox, which would match, if not even surpass Inuyasha's current level of power. The kit had smiled up at him with unshed tears of happiness in his eyes, before transforming himself with a *pop* into a duplicate of the silver-haired hanyou, slapping him on the arm and yelling "You're it!" before turning and bolting deeper into the snowy forest. Chuckling, Inuyasha had shaken his head in amusement before giving chase.

**o0o**

In full bloom,the sakura trees looked especially magnificent that year, thanks to Inuyasha's pruning job, every single dead branch, hell, every dead _twig_ all completely cleared away. Kagome received several compliments on the trees, though she always gave the credit to her friend 'Yoshi' whenever asked who her gardener was. Nobody ever saw anyone working on the trees, though Kagome had sensed him when he'd come by to do the job. Just because her inn was booked solid every night didn't mean her guests all just hung around the inn all day long without going off to _do _anything, so he'd been able to sneak back to the property a few times to take care of the trees closest to the house while everyone had been out skiing or having lunch, keeping an ear cocked for the sound of approaching vehicles so that he could take off before being spotted. He took care of the trees planted further away from the main house in the middle of the night when everyone was sleeping, figuring that if somebody actually managed to sense him and wake up, he'd be long gone by the time they ran outside to see where 'the youkai' was, though that thankfully never happened. Finished with his task, the trees were magnificent. Of course, the life of a cherry blossom was fleeting, a reminder of the mortality of all things, though when they started to fall Kagome did not think of it as a metaphor for the swiftness of her own life in comparison to Inuyasha's. In fact, she dried and pickled many of the blossoms to keep for future use in tea or cooking, a symbol of preserving the memory of an item's beauty and importance even beyond its original life expectancy. She wondered if Inuyasha's thoughts ran along similar lines, or if she was just being a silly, sentimental girl. One thing was for certain, though, that being that pretty soon, she would be able to find out Inuyasha's thoughts on that, or any other endless number of topics for herself, at any time of the month. Her season was ending; soon she would have no more guests chasing her precious hanyou away.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Sighing in relief, Inuyasha adjusted his position concealed on a tall pine tree overlooking the Yukiyama Inn. The blossoms were dying off, the breathtakingly beautiful pale pink and white petals becoming overshadowed one-by-one by the standard green tones of foliage. Inuyasha smiled to himself with the knowledge that Kagome's 'season' was finally, officially over, the sakura followers having come in hordes only to depart once more as they continued onward towards Hokkaido.

He knew there would continue to still be the random guest from time to time, some travelers, be they foreign tourists or otherwise, who happened to be in their area and who preferred the more homey feel of a private Bed and Breakfast to one of the nearby vacation lodges, but it was unlikely that such infrequent occurrences would continue to coincide with the new moon, and even if they did, that wouldn't really be an issue since he'd already gotten used to the ploy of 'arriving' at Kagome's inn after sunset on those nights. Any other night of the month he'd just stay out in the forest with the kitsune like he'd already been doing all winter. He was just looking forward to finally being able to spend at least _most _of his days with Kagome again, having breakfast with her in the kitchen and helping her around the house with her chores. Only seeing her one night a month for five months had sucked balls, but now, finally, he would more or less have her all to himself for the next seven months. It did briefly cross the hanyou's mind that it seemed out of character for him to have been so willing to stick around in that same area of forest all throughout winter and into the spring, just so that he could now once again spend most of his days with Kagome, when the _old _him always tried to avoid prolonged human contact as much as possible and only did what he needed to in order to survive, but he had stopped trying to analyze himself and his feelings for the miko a long time ago. If there was one thing he'd learned about himself during his month-long separations from Kagome, it was that he didn't _want _to be separated from Kagome. She was special to him, and he didn't give a damn what his old policies used to be. Kagome was his friend; she knew what he was and she accepted him for it. Why the hell would he have wanted to voluntarily walk away from _that?_ And even though spending his human nights at her inn having to socialize with her other guests during dinner before sitting up beside her intimately close on her small bed while trying to concentrate on the TV had been awkward and uncomfortable, at first, he'd gotten used to it. Her idea had kept him _safe_, bottom line, not to mention allowing him to see her for at least that one night a month during her busy season when he otherwise wouldn't have seen her at all had he temporarily moved away to a different location. Plus, he _still _had his seven months worth of money in his backpack, not having spent a single yen on anything at all since paying Kagome for those first three nights. That was a miraculous eight moon cycles in which he'd had free shelter. He might criticize himself for letting his wall down and falling for Kagome, but even his most deeply imbedded self-preservation instincts agreed with the idea of staying somewhere _safe_ and _free_ for as long as possible. His heart might be the victim of collateral damage, but falling in love with Kagome was definitely the lesser of two evils.

Oh yes, there was no doubt about it; he was in love with the miko. But he had learned his lesson the first time around, and while he continued to tell himself that he wasn't still hung up over Kikyou's hurtful words, it was merely the wisdom of learning from history lest it repeat itself, he did know that things could never possibly work out between himself and Kagome. Why risk destroying what they already had? What did he expect her to do, evict her _lover _out into the forest for five months out of the year?

_Yeah, right_… he snorted to himself.

No, Inuyasha knew that Kagome had feelings for him, _and _he knew that the foolish wench would probably put her entire livelihood on the line to defend him. If they ever actually did get together, then he was sure she would insist that he stay with her all year long, and that would be a one-way ticket to disaster as far as her business was concerned. While bedding with youkai wasn't an arrestable offence, society would consider her depraved. She would be branded as a sexual deviant. Plus, any offspring they might conceive wouldn't be considered human and would be in the same boat he currently found himself in; he could never do that to a child. A relationship with Kagome was simply out of the question, no matter how desperately a part of him might wish otherwise.

Still, knowing that she cared for him warmed his heart. It was worth putting up with five months of solitude in order to spend seven months in her presence. That was over half the year that he got to spend with her, and considering he had pretty much spent his entire life in solitude since leaving the taijiya village – staying with strangers who had no idea what he was wasn't exactly his idea of companionship – then seven months out of the year was a vast improvement in his book. Even during his five months away from Kagome, it wasn't really like he'd been completely alone, often hanging out with Shippou and the other kitsune. During the nights of heavy snowfall they had even let him sleep in their den with them. Finding acceptance from forest youkai was about as rare for him as finding acceptance from humans, and he was positive it was Kagome's influence that had caused them to welcome him with a sort of 'any friend of Kagome's' kind of mentality, not that he was going to complain.

Observing from his perch as Kagome's last guest exited the inn before departing in their car, he waited until they were out of sight up the road before leaping down from his hiding spot. He covered the distance from the tree line to her front door in less than five seconds, and he wasn't surprised when the front door opened at his approach, a smiling miko greeting him in the doorway.

"I thought they'd never leave." Inuyasha said with a crooked smirk, wiping his feet before strolling inside.

"Have you eaten yet?" Kagome asked as she headed with him into the main room.

"And spoil my appetite? Your cooking is far superior to mine."

"What cooking?" she teased. "I never once saw any smoke rising up through the trees."

He grinned, knowing she knew that he had been eating his catches raw, and also knowing that it didn't bother her. It wasn't necessarily that he preferred his meat raw, but he could stomach it without complaint and he hadn't wanted to risk drawing attention to his existence with a fire. "My point exactly. So what's for breakfast?"

**o0o**

Like riding a bicycle, it was second nature for Kagome and Inuyasha to settle back into their preestablished routine, not that there was truly anything 'routine' about their arrangement, for either of them. Kagome had never before had a steady roommate living with her, not since her grandmother's passing, and Inuyasha had never before been anyone's steady roommate. He had always, _always _merely been 'the handyman' or 'the help' or 'the runaway' or 'the charity case' or whatever else any of his temporary hosts would secretly label him when they thought he couldn't hear their words. Some people had been nicer about it than others, but fundamentally his living situation had always been the same. He would present himself honestly upfront as a nomad and ask if there was any work they needed done around the house either in exchange for cash, a place to crash for a few nights, or both. He usually had more success with elderly couples, ironically, even if one would think it should be the old timers who would be more likely to point at him and scream 'youkai'. Though statistically he was sure that was probably accurate, it was also the old timers who more often than not had repair work they needed done around the house that they were incapable of doing themselves, and thanks to the reputation of 'kids these days', in recent years he was usually brushed off as being nothing more than a rebel punk. He had even been accused of 'dressing up' as a youkai, thinking it was 'cool' to wear fake claws and fangs.

His situation with Kagome was definitely unique.

Even though he had been accepted as a hanyou among the taijiya, it had been a completely different time back then, and he'd definitely had to earn his keep. Not that it'd been a problem; he loved the hunt and had taken to slaying beastly youkai alongside his human brethren with ease, but he'd definitely had a duty to uphold, a purpose to fulfill. Not that his life with Kagome was without purpose, but it was just an entirely _different_ purpose than anything he was used to. All he had to do to earn his keep with Kagome was…stay with Kagome. She _wanted _him with her, and he didn't have to do _anything _in order to keep her from changing her mind and deciding he'd worn out his welcome. He hadn't felt that accepted, that welcomed and 'at home' since his mother died.

As for the miko, she too was treading entirely new territory. Since Kaede's passing she'd gotten used to living alone, though that wasn't to say she enjoyed being by herself. In fact, Kagome felt relieved to have another person in her home, filling her once lonely days with companionship once more. But was that the only reason she longed for Inuyasha's company? No, she knew her feelings for him were genuine, even if he didn't feel the same way. Being separated from him all throughout winter and early spring except for his human nights had only reaffirmed for the miko what she knew in her heart to be true. She didn't 'get over' her 'silly crush' during his absence, and she never would, because as much as the logical part of her mind might actually wish otherwise, she knew her feelings for him were much deeper than a mere crush. She loved him. She had loved him since before her busy season had started, and now that it was over, she still loved him. Her heart wasn't going to change.

Be that as it may, it was surprisingly unawkward for the pair as they each went about their daily lives. Inuyasha reclaimed his chosen bedroom, and once again took the liberty of making sure Kagome's freezer was fully stocked with less common meats and fish. Getting her vegetable garden going again was an annual task that Kagome always took pride in, and she was grateful for the company and assistance this time around as she planted her seedlings. Finally buying the buckets of paint to take care of the last remaining item on her to-do list for Inuyasha, the hanyou fulfilled his promise of repainting the exterior of her home, which he finished in a single day's time, and he also took it upon himself to thoroughly examine her roof to make sure there weren't any weak spots sneaking up on them.

One evening a single traveler showed up at random, much like how Inuyasha himself had arrived that first night with no prior phone call, though his superior senses alerted him to the visitor in time to inform Kagome before sneaking out the back. The miko was disappointed to have her evening with Inuyasha interrupted, but the reality of the matter was that it was her business, and she couldn't very well turn the paying customer away when she could definitely use the extra money, and so she showed the man to one of her two spare bedrooms and kept her frown on the inside.

Cooking extra food for dinner than what was truly necessary for two people, Kagome waited until after her impromptu houseguest excused himself for the evening before sneaking outside with a third plate of food wrapped in foil. Heading into the forest, she let her senses be her guide, and it didn't take long for Inuyasha to meet her half way once he realized she was approaching. He'd gotten used to the feel of her aura against his youki and could actually feel her approach even before he could smell or hear her.

"What are ya doing out here, woman?" he greeted with a sideways grin.

"I brought you dinner." she explained as she held up her offering.

She hadn't snuck out into the forest at night during the winter. For one thing it'd been far too cold for her, and with the nearly constant cloud cover overhead it had also been too dark to see properly; she could've gotten lost, and in temperatures below freezing that was no laughing matter. Plus, with a constant full house, usually including rambunctious children, she'd honestly also felt uneasy about leaving them all by themselves should somebody have needed her for something. This one single man she felt relatively safe leaving to his own devices for a few minutes.

"Well, t-thank you." Inuyasha replied to her unexpected gesture with a light blush, deciding not to fight with her on it. "Now get your butt back inside before he notices you've gone missing." he chastised, only half kidding. He didn't like the idea of her sneaking out into the woods to see him while she had guests and he hoped she wouldn't make a habit out of it. What if they realized she was running off to see a youkai?

Sticking her tongue out at him playfully, Kagome winked before turning tail and darting back towards her inn, knowing that he was right in that she shouldn't be gone for too long in case her absence was discovered. Fortunately all was quiet when she made her way back inside, her guest still in his room for the night with his door closed. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Telling herself that the sooner she went to bed the sooner it would become morning, Kagome retied for the night. When morning arrived as predicted, the miko politely prepared her guest the breakfast items of his choosing and then she bid him a pleasant farewell as he continued on his way. His departure was followed a short time later by Inuyasha's arrival, and Kagome greeted him at the door with a warm smile and a hot cup of coffee.

Days turned into weeks and before they knew it, it was once again the night of the new moon. Having assumed without seeking confirmation that Inuyasha would want to resume their original position of staying up all night out in the living room, on the couch, it came as a complete shock to Kagome when upon handing him the giant bowl of popcorn she'd made while making a grab for the sodas, he proceeded to head down the hallway towards her bedroom. Surprised but also delighted, she didn't dare say anything to point out her quandary and instead immediately followed after him, plopping herself down on the bed after setting down their drinks on the nightstand. Whether an unconscious act of repetition, or a deliberate, subtle display of accepting the advanced level of their friendship and not wishing to take any steps backwards, Inuyasha's behavior brought a warm feeling of happiness bubbling up in Kagome's chest as he merely crawled into bed beside her, placing the large bowl of popcorn between them as he made a grab for the remote.

The truth was that Inuyasha knew what he was doing, or so he told himself, at least. He had debated momentarily with himself over whether or not he should head for the couch or her bedroom, but had finally decided to grant Kagome this one symbol of closeness. To return to the couch now that they were alone would imply that he had only been willing to be in such close quarters with her out of necessity, and while that _had been _the only reason, at first, things were different now. He didn't realize just how different until it was too late.

Stumbling upon a documentary on the origins of some species of youkai, they were each fascinated by the scientists' explanations for how highly concentrated levels of ki in certain beings could work towards converting their mortal bodies into what has become commonly referred to as the blanket term of youkai. How even normal animals like common household pets could gain seemingly magical abilities if given the opportunity to hone and develop such powers. They also went on to explain that those animals, once converted into youkai, were also capable of passing on their advanced state of being through reproduction, like a highly concentrated evolutionary trait being passed down through their genes, meaning that the offspring of a demonic animal would in turn be a demonic animal itself instead of a mortal one, which would then of course grow up to be even stronger than its parents, continuing the process onward until an entirely separate species of youkai existed independently from its mortal cousins. They described it in kin to how domesticated species of dogs were originally bread down from wolves, and how each new puppy of a litter is not born a wolf like their ancestors but instead is born as another member of the mutated breed of canine as their parents.

Finding it all very interesting, Kagome asked Inuyasha, with all sincerity and honest curiosity, if he knew if his father had once upon a time been a mortal dog himself who had developed into a youkai either through sheer strength or possibly even inugami manipulation by a human master, or if he had been from a preestablished line of demonic inu-youkai, born with his demonic powers as Inuyasha himself had been.

"I…I don't know." the hanyou-turned-human answered her honestly, turning his head to look Kagome's way with large, blinking eyes. "I mean, he'd been over a thousand years old, so I guess it's possible he'd started out as somebody's inugami or something. I do know that while he could turn himself into a humanoid, his true form was a giant white dog, and he obviously had a fondness for humans."

The miko merely nodded her head, taking it all in stride that it was quite possible the biological father of the man currently sharing her bed had been born a normal, unintelligent, mortal dog.

"You…you're really not disturbed by all this?" he asked her hesitantly while waving his hand towards the television, his human emotions getting the better of him as his imbedded insecurities slowly rose to the surface.

"Inuyasha…" Kagome started in a soothing tone, a look of understanding shining in her stormy eyes as she muted the TV before placing a comforting hand on his arm. "The scientists even say that us humans were evolved from lower forms of primates. So why should it matter to me if it took millions of years or one generation? _You _are most certainly my intellectual equal. And if you want to say that we as mankind are the chosen race and were created specifically by the kami, well then the same argument still stands that so are youkai, so you're _still _my equal." Offering him a warm smile, she teased, "Haven't you gotten it through that thick canine skull of yours that I don't think of you any differently?"

Offering the arm she was touching a gentle squeeze, Kagome smiled as she saw Inuyasha visibly relax, but then something strange happened. The warmth shining her way in his chocolate eyes seemed to grow even hotter, almost as if he were looking at her with the same type of love she knew she felt for him in her heart. The next thing the miko knew, she was leaning herself sideways, wanting nothing more than to finally taste the lips that looked oh-so-kissable in that moment.

Inuyasha was truly touched by Kagome's words; even her crack about the density of his skull had him quietly chuckling to himself. Finding himself basking in the warmth of her unconditional acceptance, Inuyasha continued gazing to his left at the woman sitting beside him with nothing but love in his heart. How he loved that woman. But Inuyasha was perfectly content to merely stare into Kagome's eyes, to allow his feelings for her to wrap his heart in a blanket of peace and tranquility. He was not expecting those stormy gray-blue eyes of hers to suddenly start drifting closer, their lids slowly lowering like he was watching her fall asleep. Having let his guard down in his moment of vulnerability, Inuyasha realized too late what Kagome was actually doing, and when he felt her soft, petal perfect lips pressed smoothly against his own, he lost it.

"No!" he snapped, pulling himself away, much to the shock and hurt of the woman beside him.

Recoiling as if she'd been slapped, Kagome looked on the verge of tears as she tore her gaze away from him, turning her head while contemplating how much of her dignity would remain if she ran out of the room. Cringing and audibly cursing himself, Inuyasha reacted without thinking as he immediately placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Kagome, wait…" he spoke up softly, his tone apologetic.

"You don't need to say anything." she murmured dejectedly. "I understand."

Raising his hand from her shoulder to her chin and turning her head so that he could meet her eyes, his gaze was once again full of love as he told her quietly, "I don't think you do."

Grabbing the empty popcorn bowl and moving it out of the way, Inuyasha scooted himself even closer to the miko, pulling her flush against him as he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin atop her head as she buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"It's not that I don't feel that way." he confessed after a moment, stroking her hair. "I'm only trying to protect you."

Kagome shook her head against him, trying to wrap her mind around his logic.

"Protect me from what?" she mumbled against his skin.

"Me, yourself, the world we live in, take your pick."

Sniffling, the miko raised her eyes to seek his own, a spark of challenge burning in their blue-gray depths.

"And if I insist that I just don't care? That I'm willing to do whatever it takes, endure whatever it takes, in order to be with you?"

He met her gaze head on with a challenge of his own.

"Don't force me to leave you, Kagome. I already know I would regret it for the rest of my life."

"What about giving in to your feelings? Would you regret that?"

"I would fear it."

"Haven't I already told you that you've got nothing to fear from me?"

"I would fear _for _you."

"Why?"

"Because I can't offer you the future that you deserve, the life you even told me yourself that you wanted."

"I thought we'd already established how plans can change, and how that old life simply isn't the path for me any more." Kagome argued. "You really think I'll just miraculously find myself a husband one day? How would I meet him? A guest staying at my inn that I fall in love with? And who are you, then, huh?"

She didn't blush at her confession. Instead, she continued to look him in the eye, daring him to challenge her on that point.

"You never know who might walk through your door one day, Kagome. The kami could have a plan for you, and you could be throwing it all away."

"So could you."

Closing his eyes, Inuyasha exhaled slowly through his nose. He was losing his will to fight her on this issue.

"If anyone ever found out, it would destroy you." he all but whispered.

"Why don't you let me worry about that?"

Snapping his eyes open, he narrowed his gaze at her, grabbing her shoulders and giving her body a little shake for emphasis.

"Don't you get it, wench? I _love _you! I can't not worry about what would happen!"

With those words he pulled Kagome forward, slamming his lips down hard against her own before she even had time to process his declaration. She tried to gasp, a sound he swallowed greedily as he plundered her mouth with his tongue, pulling from her everything that she was while drawing strength from the act like a feeding incubus. The kiss ended as abruptly as it'd started, and Kagome was left panting for air, staring wide-eyed into the smoldering depths of Inuyasha's midnight orbs.

"I…you…" she tried to start after a moment, her mind a jumbled mess.

Catching her breath, Kagome immediately realized one solid truth above all others. There was challenge in Inuyasha's eyes as he stared at her, challenge that she immediately recognized, while also recognizing the unmistakable lacking of the playful glint that she was used to seeing in his gaze at such times. He was daring her to make the next move, but he was dead serious about it. Thinking back on her analogy of paths and doors, it dawned on the miko in that moment that he had answered her knocking. It was almost as if he had opened the very door of Hell, itself, even warning her that she would get burned. Now the only question that remained was, would she still pass through it?


	5. Overcoming Challenges, Accepting Happine

Chapter 5 – Overcoming Challenges, Accepting Happiness

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Inuyasha said nothing. Unmoving, he stared deep into Kagome's eyes, his expression clearly stating that the next move was hers to make. He thought a relationship between them was a bad idea, and for all intents and purposes, Kagome supposed that at least logically, he was right. But what right did logic have to dictate matters of the heart? The miko could also read in Inuyasha's eyes that while he thought it was a bad idea, the truth was he wanted it just as badly as she did, and she also got the distinct impression in that moment that if she continued to insist she wanted him, he would no longer fight her on it. He would allow her to damn herself. After all, being with him would ruin _her _life, not his. If he were to be brutally honest with himself, a relationship with Kagome would make him the happiest hanyou on the planet. Hell, for all Inuyasha knew, he could currently be the _only _hanyou on the planet, but that was really neither here nor there. Society made no special exceptions for hanyou in this one particular instance. Being with him…it wouldn't be _worse _for Kagome that he was a hanyou rather than a full-blooded youkai, but it wouldn't be better, either. The fact that he was half human was completely irrelevant, in that one regard. The reason people were extra racist towards him personally if they learned what he was was because his mixed blood symbolized the type of union that they loathed, the bond between a human and a _non_-human. In the ningen world, not 'fully' human equated to not human, simple as that, and Kagome being with him would be just as disgusting and just as _wrong _as being with a purebred. His mother had been a traitor to her own kind in her willingness to breed with a beast, and that title would befall Kagome as well.

_Though…technically, I __am__ fully human at this precise moment in time_…Inuyasha attempted to reason weakly, his facial expression giving no hint to his inner turmoil. The challenge had been issued, it was up to Kagome to accept or decline.

After what seemed like several small eternities, the miko spoke.

"I've made my decision." she stated with finality, as if he had actually verbally told her that such a decision was hers to make. He hadn't needed to. She could read it in his eyes even now, as he seemed to hold his breath in anticipation of her next sentence.

"Society can _fuck _itself." she declared with a smile and nod of conviction. Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise of her language, though before he could muscle up the courage to say anything Kagome was already yanking him forward by his forelocks, her lips pressed against his own once more.

Contradictively, Inuyasha felt both eager and reluctant to return her kiss, but eventually allowing himself to relax against her, it wasn't too long at all before the temporarily human man that he was found himself melting against her, allowing her to dominate their joining. True, she hadn't been with anyone in over seven years, but his dry spell had been much longer. He wasn't a virgin, but in that moment he felt like he might as well have been, as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, unsure of how to hold her or what he was allowed to touch. Was this only a make out session, or did she plan on going even further? And if so, how far? While he gathered that they were officially 'together' now, in heart and mind, that didn't necessarily mean she was ready to go from zero to sixty in a single sitting.

His uncertainties were assuaged when Kagome, perhaps sensing his hesitation, grabbed a hold of his right hand and placed it over her left breast. Massaging the soft flesh through the fabric of her nightshirt, Inuyasha moaned into their kiss when Kagome cut right to the chase and reached for the rapidly developing bulge in his jeans. It wasn't long before the pair shimmied themselves down into lying positions on the bed, Kagome's left hand building up a delicious friction for the hanyou while he simultaneously reached down between her legs. Removing his right hand from her breast it didn't take him long to find the source of her heat, the sweatpants she was currently wearing making his job easier. Jerking her hips forward, it was suddenly Kagome's turn to moan into the kiss, as they each laid there on their sides, both grinding against their partner's hand.

For several moments their actions continued, until a sudden and rather intense jolt of pleasure running through Inuyasha's body had him pulling away from her touch, unwilling to risk ruining their first union. After all, while in his human form, he only had a human's stamina. It was definitely a good thing he was currently human, though, he decided then, taking advantage of his clawless fingers to bring Kagome to even greater heights, causing the miko to disregard the fact that he had pulled away from her own touch as her left hand rose to clutch the fabric of his shirt. Some things really were like riding a bicycle, and his few brief encounters with his former love assured the hanyou in that moment that he knew what he was doing as his new love writhed against him. Maybe the act didn't seem tedious because he was completely enraptured by her ever changing expressions, but it felt like no time at all before Kagome's eyes suddenly burst wide open as she shrieked, her body convulsing madly.

Pulling his hand away only when the faintest, desperate whisper of "No more…" reached his ears, Inuyasha propped himself up slightly on his elbow, turning to lean over the miko who had flopped onto her back in the afterglow of her climax. Gazing down lovingly into her eyes, Inuyasha was just about to try and think of some tactful way to ask whether or not she still wanted to continue, when Kagome's euphoric expression suddenly turned into a wicked smirk, as she gazed back up at him knowingly before once again reaching for his manhood.

"Mmm…" he moaned then, his hips rocking forward lazily. "That's gonna take more than your hand." he purred seductively, lying through his teeth. He was quite convinced that if Kagome kept at it, he would be staining his jeans before too much longer. The look she shot him in that moment revealed that Kagome knew the truth, as well, though she was more than happy to oblige nonetheless as she pulled her hand away again. Sitting up enough to pull her t-shirt up and over her head, she tossed it to the floor below, displaying her willingness to progress things further…among other things. Inuyasha groaned appreciatively at the sight of her breasts bared before him, and leaning forward, he captured an aroused peak in his mouth, earning a hiss of pleasure from the girl who lied back down below him.

As he leaned slightly over her, teasing the beaded flesh that he rolled lazily with his tongue, Kagome's hands found their way to the back of his head, tangling in his hair. Suddenly, she was torn, because while she knew that she wouldn't have been able to enjoy the pleasure he'd just recently given her were he in his hanyou form, she also found in that moment as she ran her fingers through his raven locks that she desperately longed for his canine ears.

_Next time_… she told herself, content with the knowledge that there would in fact be a next time. This was most certainly not a one-time thing, nor would it be a once-a-month thing. If Inuyasha thought either that she wouldn't be interested in his hanyou form or that he could somehow avoid her at all other times of the month he had another think coming. For the time being, though, he was owed something _else_ 'coming' than merely a second thought.

Reaching down and grabbing at the bottom hem of his shirt, Kagome began tugging upward, eventually forcing the hanyou-turned-human to relinquish his claim of her in order to back up and allow her to pull his shirt up and off. Tossing it to the floor below, Kagome then proceeded to surprise Inuyasha by sitting up until she was the one towering over _him_, pressing him back into the bedding with a gentle hand on his chest. Smirking, he complied, gazing up at his…lover? girlfriend? wife?…with adoration and arousal. Reaching down towards his jeans once more, this time Kagome's destination was the button-fly, something she was thankfully familiar with since some of her jeans were the same way. Giving a skilled and playful tug at just the right angle, every button popped loose one right after the other as if she had merely ripped his jeans open, earning a chuckle from the hanyou while revealing a thick patch of raven curls and the beginnings of something else that disappeared out of sight down his pant leg. He wasn't wearing his fundoshi.

As she began tugging Inuyasha immediately assisted Kagome, reaching down as well and shimmying himself out of his jeans, his excitement springing to life once freed from its confines. Unabashed, Kagome stared at his nude body wantonly, the flickering light from the muted and forgotten television set providing her with more than enough light to see by in the otherwise darkened room. Aware of her gaze upon him, Inuyasha was unashamed, silently allowing her to take in the sight of his naked form with something akin to wonder shining in his eyes. Wonder that this was really happening, that she really wanted him.

Did she ever.

Reaching forward with her right hand, Kagome wrapped her fingers around him, smirking to herself when his breathing hitched. She could finish him with her hand so easily, she was sure, but she knew he didn't want that, and honestly, neither did she. Still, she couldn't resist teasing him for a moment, the sensation causing his hips to roll upward and a low moan to escape his throat.

"Kami, Kagome…you don't know how long it's been." he panted, even the feel of somebody else's hand touching him sending signals of pleasure through his body that he hadn't felt since…

"I'm guessing about a hundred and fifty years, at least since there was a second person involved." the miko spoke softly, earning nothing but another moan of pleasure in response as his hips rose once more.

When he had originally confessed about his failed relationship with Kikyou he hadn't gone into too many details, but over the months he'd spent with Kagome prior to moving out for her busy season they had both eventually ended up sharing several more details about themselves with each other. He also knew that Kagome wasn't a virgin, she and her high school boyfriend Hojo having gone all the way more than once. Their relationship had ended abruptly after the accident when Kagome had been forced to leave Tokyo, though his inability to even _try _to make the long distance relationship work, especially after the temporary fear of losing her when her condition in the hospital had been touch and go, had told the miko that he wasn't the one for her, anyway, and so she'd moved on relatively easily. As for the hanyou currently writhing below her, Kagome knew through his own admittance that he'd never loved anyone else, or even really allowed himself any true friendships, since leaving the taijiya village. Of course, she supposed it was always possible that he had randomly, at least on his human nights, occasionally acquired himself a whore, but she had never insulted him with the question. While it was possible, it wasn't really feasible. Not with what she knew of Inuyasha's personality, at least. And he more or less confirmed her belief in that moment by reaching down to still her hand, murmuring through a heavy breath, "So quit tempting fate, woman." He in no way attempted to deny or correct her estimate.

Chuckling quietly, she released him in full agreement. Pulling back, Kagome hooked her thumbs into the elastic waistband of her sweatpants and tugged, giving her hips a little raise as she pulled her pants down and off, tossing them down with the rest of their discarded clothing. Unlike Inuyasha, Kagome was in fact wearing underwear, though she displayed no hesitation with making herself as equally naked as the man beside her as she immediately reached for the waist of her panties and pulled those down as well. Inuyasha stared, transfixed, as Kagome unabashedly revealed her nude form to his hungry gaze.

_I'm going to fucking explode the minute I touch her_…

Inuyasha was surprised when instead of either presenting herself or perhaps climbing towards him if she wanted to be in charge, Kagome turned away from him for a moment, reaching for the nightstand on her side of the bed and sliding open the drawer in front. His confusion was short lived when she turned back his way with the object she had retrieved gripped between her fingers, though he couldn't help shooting her a playfully accusative glare.

"What?" she replied sheepishly, nervously twiddling with the unopened condom.

"I'm going to assume that you _don't _keep a supply of condoms on hand just on the off chance one of your male clients can't pay with money."

She blushed at the dig, not truly insulted because they both knew such a scenario was absurd. They also both knew that she was thoroughly busted in her womanly, hopeful, 'just in case' planning ahead with regard to the _one _house guest who didn't _need _to pay with money.

"I, uh…that is…" she started, ducking her head when he laughed, though his tone was mirthful and she was truly not that embarrassed.

"You're going to have to put it on me." he told her then, adding, "While I keep up with the times enough to know what most modern things _are_, most of the stuff out there I've never actually used myself or know how it works."

"Of course." she replied understandingly, tearing open the wrapper and gently sliding the lubricated latex over his member.

They both knew that there was absolutely no chance in Hell of him having any kind of a disease that he could possibly infect her with, so her only concern was obviously pregnancy, and Inuyasha was actually relieved to realize that Kagome at least wasn't being quite as reckless as he'd originally feared. Of course, truth be told, the miko wasn't the only reckless one. Once they'd gotten lost in the heat of the moment, the possibility of an accidental pregnancy hadn't even been on his mind. He was more than a little ashamed to realize he'd so thoroughly lost himself that he'd momentarily zoned out on such an important concern, though he was equally just as proud of Kagome to know that she had kept her wits about her the whole time. Now, as he gazed into her eyes lovingly, Inuyasha found that he was glad for the brief pause in passion to momentarily say hello to reality. It was with a clear head and willingness to face the inevitable challenges of maintaining a relationship with Kagome that the transformed hanyou lifted himself up to crawl over her waiting body, the miko shimmying herself down to lie flat on her back beneath him.

Reaching down between them to align himself at her entrance, Inuyasha briefly found himself wondering just how on Earth he'd come to be in such a position. Hadn't he sworn to himself that nothing would ever happen between them? Hadn't he been a firm believer in the fact that, for Kagome's own sake, he could never permit himself to defile her? But as he slowly joined with her warm, inviting body, the hanyou-turned-human realized in that moment that Kagome had been absolutely right; she was a gift from the kami, and one he had very nearly and _stupidly_ thrown away.

To Inuyasha's immense relief, the condom nullified just enough of the sensation washing through him to prevent him from exploding on contact. He was glad for the slight numbing effect, since it meant he could now prolong his night with Kagome. Sheathing himself to the hilt, he searched her eyes for any hint of pain. She was incredibly tight, which was to be expected, but as he gazed down into her shimmering orbs of blue-gray velvet he saw absolutely no trace of discomfort reflected back at him.

Rolling her hips, Kagome murmured seductively, "What are you waiting for?" and that was all the encouragement he needed. Retracting himself before slowly moving forward, Inuyasha took his time refamiliarizing himself with the feel of being one with a woman. It was a sensation he had honestly thought he would never feel again for the rest of his life. Kagome was perfect. There was simply no other way to describe her. And her body wasn't bad to look at, either. Yes, she was sexy as all get out, truth be told, but her hot little body wasn't why she was so perfect. Neither was it the way she retracted her legs, encouraging him to raise himself up on outstretched arms as she hooked her legs over his shoulders. Kagome was perfect because…

"I love you." she panted below him, her bangs sticking to her forehead.

She loved him. She honest and truly loved him, for who he was. Smiling drunkenly, Inuyasha leaned down, almost folding the poor girl in half though she didn't seem to mind, especially not when he lightly touched his lips to hers before murmuring a softly spoken, "I love you, too."

Pulling back, Inuyasha propped himself up on his knees, encouraging Kagome to lower her legs from his shoulders to instead lock them around his waist. Gripping her hips with both hands, he lifted the petite miko's backside into the air, tilting her at a slightly upside-down angle, not that she was complaining. Biting her lip to keep from crying out loud enough for the kitsune to hear from their den in the woods, it was only a shout of pure bliss that was struggling to burst forth from the girl as she repeated her lover's name in quick gasps like a mantra.

She had almost forgotten what it felt like to be joined with a man. Inuyasha was hitting all the right places, and as she tightened her fists in the sheet at her sides, her head tilted back with her face scrunched tight in pure ecstasy, the last thing on Kagome's mind was how the man currently loving her wasn't technically a man at all. She had meant it when she'd said that society could fuck itself. So long as Inuyasha kept doing what he was doing, she didn't care _what _the rest of the world thought of her. Feeling that tightly wound coil getting ready to snap, she opened her eyes with a start, staring down the length of her body up into Inuyasha's sweat-drenched face, his eyes instantly locking with hers.

Her body seized, a silent scream turning less silent by the second as she pinched her eyes shut once more, the evidence of her pleasure ripped from her throat as her internal muscles contracted around him so tightly, Inuyasha was thrust into oblivion right after her, his climax hitting him without warning. A scratchy combination of a groan and grunt escaped him as he peaked, reminiscent of the sound someone would make when attempting to lift something much too heavy. Releasing his hold on her hips, then, he allowed the miko's backside to drop to the mattress, her legs disentangling themselves from around his waist while he gripped himself at the base to ensure the used condom stayed on. All he wanted to do was collapse against her, but first he had a little matter to attend to. Catching sight of his condition, Kagome pulled herself from her stupor to sit up and assist him as he remained kneeling before her, helping him to remove the condom without making a mess. Tossing it into the lined wastebasket at the side of the bed, she then proceeded to flop back down in the remains of her afterglow, Inuyasha immediately following suit as he allowed himself to collapse half against her, half on the mattress to her left, taking up what was originally her side of the bed. They were both far too tired to worry about switching positions, as if it truly mattered. A lazy smile lifted one edge of his lips when he felt Kagome wrap her arms around him. Resting his left leg between her own, his arm draped across her body lying directly against her breasts, it was with a feeling of pure and utter contentment that Inuyasha unconsciously allowed sleep to find him for the first time on his human night since his mother's death.

**o0o**

Inuyasha awoke with a start, his motion as well as the pulses of youki rushing through him immediately rousing the girl at his side as Kagome bolted awake beside him on reflex before quickly relaxing again once she realized it was merely the return of his powers. Settling herself back down to snuggle against him once more, the miko was instantly concerned at the way she felt him stiffen at the contact, his entire being seemingly on high alert.

_Oh no…no…tell me he isn't regretting…_

"So…it wasn't a dream." he whispered softly once his transformation was complete. His muscles were wound tight, as if he were prepared to leap from her bed at any given second, though so far he hadn't actually made a move to escape, and Kagome found a tiny bit of comfort in that fact.

Too afraid to dare a peak at his face, terrified she would find a look of disgust in his eyes, whether directed at her or at himself it wouldn't matter, Kagome instead tightened her grip on his chest where her right arm was slung across him, a clear signal to anyone with a brain that the girl was afraid he was about to leave her.

"No, it was a dream come true." she murmured finally, and to Kagome's immense relief, she felt some of the tension melt out of him as he raised a shaky hand to awkwardly pat at the arm across his chest.

Moving to sit up, then, Kagome didn't panic when something told her Inuyasha only wanted to talk face to face. Reluctantly releasing her hold on him, she complied with his silent request as she sat up beside him on his right, deciding at the last moment to _not _hold the blanket up around her chest, instead allowing him the visual reminder of their shared nudity. She didn't miss the way his eyes drifted down over her chest before he almost seemed to force his gaze back up to eye level, and she found herself mentally chuckling at how he was very much like any normal man in that moment, when surely he was about to try to convince her that he was anything but.

"Kagome…" he started, releasing a tired breath as he raised his left hand to rub at the back of his head.

Quickly reaching out with her left hand, Kagome latched onto his right, giving it a light squeeze when she felt his body tense again.

"Nothing has changed." she assured him quickly. "I know you're more emotional in your human form, so if you're about to tell me how last night wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the new moon, save your breath. But here's the bottom line, last night _did _happen, and I don't regret a second of it."

He just stared at her, his golden eyes glistening more brightly than usual with an unmistakable sheen. Not knowing what else to say, and realizing that this was probably one of those moments where there weren't any good words to use, anyway, the miko moved forward in that moment, practically throwing herself into his embrace. To Kagome's utter relief and joy, she felt Inuyasha wrap his arms around her in return, the restored inu-hanyou holding her to him tightly, as if _he _were suddenly afraid that _she _was the one about to leave.

"I…meant everything I said last night." he nearly whispered after a moment of silence had passed. Kagome recognized it for the confession of love that it was, and responded by snaking her right hand up into his silvery tresses, finally, tenderly latching onto his left ear. He stiffened again at the contact, though she could tell this time that it was only in surprise.

"So did I…" she assured him softly, continuing to massage his ear between her fingers, relishing in the feel of the soft, fuzzy skin.

"Damn, woman…" he grumbled low in his chest, gently reaching up to grasp her wrist as he pulled back from their embrace. "Quit that." he joked good-naturedly while prying her talented fingers from his tingling ear, adding, "I can't scold you on how last night was a mistake when you're makin' me wanna jump you again."

Kagome burst into laughter at his unexpected statement, the hanyou grinning lopsidedly as his eyes sparkled with mirth. His morning excitement was prominently displayed with the way the blanket suddenly tented in his lap, and all of a sudden, the miko found that she was the one whose eyes were having difficulty remaining locked on the gaze of her partner. He couldn't help chuckling a bit himself at the sight of her oh-so-obvious appreciation.

"Last night _was _a mistake," he insisted after a moment, his tone of voice surprisingly nonchalant given the topic. With a shrug he added, "But it's one that I will gladly do over and over…" He dropped his voice an octave, "…and _over_..." he emphasized, causing her to shudder in delight as she glanced down at the bulge in his lap once more.

"I just want to know one thing…" Kagome purred then, her fingers teasing the flesh of his stomach near the edge of the blanket. He raised an eyebrow, a fang poking out with his smirk. "Yeah?"

She yanked the blanket down, revealing the lower half of their naked bodies and his raging morning hard-on nestled in a patch of _white _curls.

"I knew it!" she laughed in triumph, causing him to chuckle as well.

Besides his 'down there' hair being white, he was also a fair bit larger in his hanyou form, which didn't take Kagome too long to realize as her eyes widened in surprise. He laughed openly at her expression while she ducked her head, her bangs hiding her eyes as a faint blush dusted her cheeks.

"I hope you bought different sizes…" he commented playfully in the face of her embarrassment over gawking at his increased length, leaning over to reach for the drawer of the nightstand he was currently closer to, his eyes never leaving her form.

"Wait!" Kagome suddenly cried in panic as he blindly pulled the drawer open to reach inside without looking.

He smirked, thinking he was about to find something embarrassing, like a vibrator. He was not prepared for the mind-numbing pain that suddenly ripped through his body as he pulled his hand back as though he'd been burned, only to realize with horror that he _was _being burned, one of Kagome's purifying ofuda stuck to the palm of his hand.

"Ahhh! Get it off!" he cried even as he flailed, making the act impossible for the miko who screamed while desperately trying and failing to grab a hold of his wrist.

"No!" she shouted through her tears as she felt his youki leave him, that ofuda having been made at deadly levels.

As quickly as it'd come, the pain was over, and as Inuyasha blinked in surprise to realize he was still alive, it took him a moment to comprehend the horror-struck expression of the sobbing miko kneeling naked before him.

"Kagome, what…?" He paused, his eyes opening wide in terror as he recognized the improper timber of his voice. Looking down at the sutra still stuck to his hand, it wasn't the pink, burnt skin of his palm that concerned him so much as it was the human nails adorning his fingertips.

"Oh kami…" he whispered in shock, glancing sideways to catch the sight of black hair falling over his shoulders.

Kagome was inconsolable, crying hysterically as if she'd just witnessed a murder, and immediately forgetting about his own predicament, he moved to embrace the girl. She flinched away from his touch, though it wasn't because she was afraid of him. She couldn't believe that _he _wasn't afraid of _her_. She'd just…she'd just…

"I-I'm s-so s-sorr-ryy…" she sobbed into her hands.

"It…it's not your fault." he tried to assure her.

It _wasn't _her fault. He knew she was a miko, of course, and she'd told him before that she kept a supply of ofuda on hand, ready to go in case of emergencies. Sure, she'd never told him _where _they were, but what business did he have just reaching into random drawers in her bedroom? And she _had _tried to stop him. If he'd only taken her command to stop seriously…

He reached for her again, the paper of the sutra crinkling as he flexed his fingers, reminding him that the cursed thing was still stuck to his hand. Ripping it off in disgust, he gasped in surprise as a pulse of youki immediately surged through him, just like the sensation at sunrise after the moonless night. Kagome felt it the same time he did, and he glanced her way to see her red and puffy eyes staring back at him with hope and relief. Painlessly, his demonic aura surged back to life, immediately healing the burnt flesh of his palm in the process. His morning excitement gone, his one and only thought was making certain he was still whole as he leapt from her bed but didn't head far, walking over to her full-length mirror. Giving no thought of his nudity, all sexual awkwardness was completely erased from his psyche. One benefit to momentarily thinking you were about to die, he supposed, was that all the little negatives of life no longer mattered. Glancing back Kagome's way, he was neither embarrassed nor overly aroused by the sight of her own nudity, feeling completely comfortable in her presence as if they'd been married for years as she stood at the foot of the bed, her hand suspended somewhere between her heart and her mouth as if she was afraid to say anything, afraid to dare hoping…

"I'm fine." he assured her, and he could feel the tension whoosh out of her even from across the room.

He approached Kagome then, relieved when she didn't flinch away from him a second time. Pulling her into a tight embrace, they stood together in silence for several minutes until the faintest, whispered repeat of "I'm fine…" brushed against her ear. Then a thought occurred to him, and the miko felt him stiffen, though it was with a huge grin that he repeated, "I'm fine!" before he stepped away from her to where he'd flung the ofuda.

"What…what are you doing?" she asked with a shaky breath as he stared down at the innocent looking strip of paper on the floor.

"Does this thing still have any power?" he asked her, "Or was it a one-time-only thing?"

"Why?"

"I want to try something."

Picking it up with an expression that was not unlike handling a dead rat, Kagome crinkled her nose in disgust as she responded, "It's still good."

"Put it on me."

Eyes opening wide, she snapped her gaze to his.

"What?"

"Just do it, please…"

Having a pretty good idea why he wanted her to do it and _not _liking the idea one bit, Kagome nonetheless complied, closing her eyes and sighing shakily. The writing on that particular ofuda was to purify and eliminate any and _all _demonic auras, so there was not much she could do in the way of altering the spell with her preconceptions of good and evil. It was what it was.

She paused.

"But you were in so much pain." she tried to reason, holding the paper two inches from his chest.

"No pain no gain, besides, I've had worse. It was the surprise that freaked me out the most, not to mention I thought it just might kill me."

Reluctantly conceding to the fact that they both now knew that it at least wouldn't kill him, though whether or not his youkai side could suffer any permanent damage was another story, Kagome begrudgingly pressed the ofuda against his chest. Prepared for it this time, Inuyasha braced himself against the pain, his face bunching as he grunted under his breath though he otherwise endured it in silence. Just like the first time, the pain only lasted a moment, and when it was over, he was human.

He was human.

During the day.

Laughing excitedly, he caught the miko off guard as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace yet again. "Do you know what this means?" he asked with all the passion of a man who'd just won the lottery. It was an extremely accurate description.

Distraught as she was by the lingering stress of that morning's unexpected turn of events, Kagome found that Inuyasha's mirthful outlook was contagious, and despite herself, she found herself laughing along with him before too long.

"It means I'll have to return the Magnum XLs?" she teased, finding her bravado.

He gaped at her, then glancing down over himself as if only finally realizing in that moment that they were both still naked, he smirked as he ripped the ofuda from his chest.

"That's what _you _think!" he growled playfully as he lunged, Kagome's laughter echoing loudly throughout the room as she landed on her back on the bed with him above her, his hanyou features not the only things restored on his body as he showered her with kisses.

**o0o**

"And what would you like for breakfast?" Kagome asked, pen poised over pad as she took down her guests' orders.

"A traditional breakfast will be fine, Higurashi-san." Mr. Taguchi answered on behalf of himself and his wife.

Nodding, Kagome went over a mental checklist of which ingredients she was beginning to run low on. She would need to make another trip to the market by the end of the week. Bidding her guests goodnight for the evening, the miko headed into the kitchen to clean up the mess from dinner, only to find that somebody had already beaten her too it. Again.

"How many times do I have to tell you that washing the dishes is _my _job?" Kagome scolded playfully, the faux heat of her words giving way for the genuine gratitude she felt for his assistance, and presence.

"And how many times do I have to tell _you_, 'Kagome-chan', that helping you with your chores around the house is the least I can do?"

Smiling at the raven-haired hanyou standing in her kitchen, clawless hands submerged in a sink of sudsy water, Kagome thought it logical to point out that, technically, the 'least' he could do would be _nothing_, but chuckling to himself, Inuyasha merely shook his head in amusement before sending her a look over his shoulder that plainly said _'You know what I mean_._'_

After discovering that, with the assistance of Kagome's purifying ofuda, he really _could _turn himself human at will, it had been a whole new ballgame as far as the hanyou was concerned, in regard to his 'secret' relationship with the miko. Now, still going by the alias of 'Yoshi', he was openly Kagome's partner, both in business and in life. No longer did he run and hide when other guests arrived at the inn. Through several trial runs during the dead months of summer, they had discovered that regardless of how long her ofuda remained attached to his skin, his youkai powers always returned the very instant it was removed. It was as if the purifying aura of her sutra merely forced his powers into hibernation like on the moonless night, rather than actually hurting them in any way. Yes, applying the ofuda was painful, but it was momentary, and something he would _gladly _endure over and over again for the newfound freedom her sutra provided him. Business was already starting to pick up again, the chilly days of autumn giving way to the downright freezing temperatures of winter as a thick layer of snow clouds blanketed the evening sky, and he had absolutely no plans of going anywhere. Instead, he planned on remaining human indefinitely throughout her busy season until the last of her guests departed in late spring after the fall of the sakura blossoms. Kagome had been shocked, at first, when he'd originally voiced his plans, amazed and humbled that he was willing to sacrifice his superior youkai senses for so long simply in order to remain in her presence, especially with knowing how badly he hated turning human even for one night a month, but with the way Inuyasha had explained it, it was a no-brainer. Why would he want to cling to the differences that made his relationship with Kagome forbidden? Why would he want to reject the godsend that was his love's miko powers? Truly destiny at work, everything had been the kami's will from the moment he'd decided to head into that region of Japan. The other lodges turning him down, Yumi giving him the directions to Kagome's establishment, the twenty-six-year-old's miko powers that outted him as a youkai and his own subsequent confession of being hanyou…everything had happened as it was meant to. Kagome was supposed to have invited him to move in with her, they were supposed to have fallen in love with each other, he was supposed to have finally caved during that one moonless night when they had come together as one for the first time, and he was supposed to have stumbled upon her purifying ofuda the following morning to learn that instead of killing him, because of his human half, they acted more like a concealment charm than anything else. With the kitsune's assistance, offering their scrutiny, Inuyasha had passed inspection, Shippou's father and the other elders all confirming the same thing…with the ofuda in place there was absolutely no trace of his demonic half. He didn't just look like a human, or smell like a human, or _feel _like a human to their youki…with the ofuda in place, he _was _human.

Inuyasha would be content to remain human permanently if it were what Kagome wanted, though thankfully, he knew she loved his hanyou-self too much to ever truly be satisfied with him as a human twelve months out of the year. _Why _she loved his ears so much, or his white hair, or golden eyes, he would never understand, though he always enjoyed making her blush when he playfully accused her of liking his hanyou form better for _other _reasons. It was true, though, that they both loved running through the forest, and during the slow months when it was only just the two of them, he felt better being able to do parameter sweeps in his hanyou form to check the area for rouge youkai. Not to mention the fact that he still hunted or fished for her on occasion, which was something else he needed his youkai powers for. Honestly, while Inuyasha _would _choose being human over hanyou if he had to make up his mind once and for all, especially when being human gave him the freedom to be with and around Kagome without putting her at risk, he was actually very grateful for the fact that he could switch back and forth at will. Of course, since turning hanyou again immediately repaired any damage incurred to his body during his human transformation, including cellular degradation otherwise known as _aging_, it meant that even being human six months out of the year for fifty years wouldn't age the boy fifty, or even twenty-five years, but he and Kagome had both openly decided to worry about that in the future. He didn't care that Kagome would age faster than him, and he had every intention of sharing his life with her for the rest of her life. Shippou had already promised them both that he would start working on an illusionary spell that, over time, would give Inuyasha the guise of an older man. While it was beyond a kitsune's capabilities to create a human illusion that actually masked the presence of youki, meaning that if he had tried to have Shippou come up with a way to hide his hanyou features he would've still been exposed to a spiritualist who could sense his aura, now that Kagome's sutra successfully nullified his demonic aura even to the point where the miko herself couldn't sense him, a kitsune illusion designed merely to fake aging was actually possible, so that to the public's eye he could appear to grow old along side his wife. And for all intents and purposes, Kagome _was _his wife. He still didn't have any papers, which meant that a legally binding ceremony would never be possible, but he had still proposed to the girl, in his own way, that first morning after discovering he could use her sutra to turn himself human at will. After spending over half the morning making love in his hanyou form, Inuyasha had more or less blurted out during lunch that their discovery meant that he never had to worry about anyone ever finding out what he was. That he could stay with her _forever _and it would never be a problem. Kagome had more or less nodded absentmindedly at his assessment of the situation, still in the blissful afterglows of experiencing his hanyou stamina, when he had gotten her attention by scooting back in his chair to come around the kitchen table and kneel before her. She had gasped as he'd asked her if she would allow that, if she would allow him to stay with her forever, if she would have him for the rest of her days. Crying tears of joy Kagome had sobbed her 'yes' before pulling him into a passionate kiss.

Now, as the miko came up behind him and snaked her arms around his abdomen, 'Yoshi' found himself having difficulty concentrating on the glass he was currently washing.

"That can wait until tomorrow…" she purred seductively, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin. He accidentally dropped the glass with a splash when her right hand dipped lower, cupping his groin.

"Damn, woman."

He would never get tired of her.

**o0o**

With summer's return came a new project for Inuyasha. Having officially been with Kagome for over a year and having lived with her for nearly two, they both knew that she didn't need to come up with fake projects for him to do around the house in order to earn his keep, though this particular project wasn't fake, and had actually been his idea. With Kagome making sure that all of the proper building permits were in place for such an undertaking, Inuyasha was working on expanding the Yukiyama Inn. More specifically, he was building a small, private living quarters for Kagome and himself set apart from the main building. It wasn't because he was getting tired of having to put up with strangers in 'their' home. He'd long ago learned how to wait his turn for the washroom, or how to be quiet during their lovemaking so as not to embarrass Kagome when she would have to face their guests the following morning during breakfast. No, he was building a separate room for he and Kagome in the back for one, very simple reason, so that they could rent out all four rooms of the main house instead of only three.

It didn't cost them very much money since he was doing all of the construction by himself, meaning it was mainly the cost of materials they had to worry about, and Inuyasha surprised Kagome by paying for most of those on his own, using up what was left of his 'bank account' before having to rely on any of the miko's own savings. What did he need to hang onto that money for? He wasn't going anywhere. Fortunately, he didn't need to borrow very much money from Kagome's savings account, the project not really costing all that much because it was a small, simple building. For all intents and purposes the Yukiyama Inn was still their home; it was more or less a detached master bedroom that he was building for them. It had water and gas and electricity all running to it, something he had used part of his money to pay professionals to do for him, but it only had a half bath, and no kitchen. Kagome still needed to go into the main house every morning to fix breakfast for their guests, after all, so what would be the point in putting a kitchenette in their new bedroom? Of course, one luxury they did have installed was another satellite receiver, and Kagome used a little of her own money to purchase some of the furnishings, including a new television set, but once season rolled back around and they were able to rent out all four rooms Kagome quickly made her money back, and then some. Even the new TV receiver so that they could still watch separate programming from any of the guests was easily affordable within the new budget with such a drastic increase of income. It was the tiniest bit inconvenient having to walk in the cold from the detached suite to the main house every morning to fix breakfast, though Kagome never had to trudge through the snow since Inuyasha offered her a piggyback ride every morning, and the brisk air certainly succeeded in waking her up so that she was bright eyed and bushy tailed by the time her guests started wandering out of their bedrooms. It was a small price to pay to watch the way her savings account continued to grow. Refusing to change anything in her primary routine, with the exception of the sixth television and the slight increase in their gas usage from the separate furnace, everything pulled from opening the fourth guestroom was pure profit. Renting it even one single night a month would more than pay for the raise in her TV and gas bills. At this rate, she and Inuyasha would be able to afford a vacation of their own, not that she imagined that was what he'd had in mind. When asked, the hanyou replied merely that he wanted Kagome to be comfortable, knowing that while she had been making it all right before, things had been a bit tight at times. Now she could relax, knowing there would always be enough money to pay the bills, as well as an emergency fund in case something overly expensive ever required repair work. Inuyasha could fix just about anything, but sometimes, some things just needed to be replaced, like a new furnace, or a new washer and dryer. Nothing had gone wrong with any of her equipment _yet_, but the hanyou was a stickler for planning ahead. She could hardly fault him for that one.

It was planning ahead that had led Kagome to that present moment in time, joining Inuyasha in their private suite after making sure their guests were taken care of for the evening. It was presently sakura season, and her property was an explosion of white and pink blossoms. Soon petals would cover the ground in their mimic of winter's snow, but before that happened, the trees in all their blooming glory were more symbolic of new life rather than how fleeting life could be as a whole.

_New life…_

Shaking her head to clear it of wandering thoughts, Kagome was prepared to abide by her husband's wishes. She did think of Inuyasha as her husband, and as such he definitely had equal say in the matter. If his answer was no then that would be the end of it. But just like with everything else in her life that had involved the inu-hanyou, Kagome knew it was up to her to make the first move.

"Phew…" said hanyou chuckled as he climbed into bed beside her. "I'm glad you speak English." he joked, in reference to the American couple currently among their guests.

While it was true that living through the decades as he had meant that, in theory, he'd had plenty of time to learn a second language, his relatively brief intervals of interaction with other people prior to moving in with Kagome meant that he'd never really had an opportunity to learn how to _speak _the language. Especially since he usually tried to stick to elderly couples that at most times didn't know the Western tongue, anyway. He could understand some of it in written form, having his ways to get a hold of literature whenever he needed to keep himself up to date with modern knowledge, but his accent was _horrible_, and their American guests had just about as much trouble understanding him as he did them.

"I can teach you." Kagome offered with a smile, "It's a lot easier than math."

That earned a chuckle from the hanyou who thought it best not to tease his miko companion on her horrendous math skills. If she could budget her business properly then that was all that mattered in the end. You didn't need to be able to comprehend complex formulas to know how much money you needed to keep aside for your monthly bills, that was just common sense.

Reaching for the remote, Inuyasha was delighted when Kagome clasped his hand in her own, her eyes sparkling with _the look_. Quickly discarding the remote, he no longer gave a shit about the TV. While they didn't have sex every single night, they usually got together at least once a week, but he always left it up to Kagome. At least in his human form. As a hanyou his instincts got the better of him on occasion, not that she'd ever once complained about the times he'd suddenly jumped her while she'd been in the middle of her chores. He always kept his wits about him enough to carry her into the bedroom, where the necessary 'supplies' were located in order to complete the act. But that was as a hanyou; as a human he was much more timid, though Kagome had come to accept that side of him as well. All he needed was a sign of encouragement, and then he was capable of taking control, like in that moment as he took advantage of their joined hands to tug Kagome into him, reaching up to cup the side of her face with his free hand as he closed the gap between them, pulling her into a kiss.

Instantly melting against him, Kagome allowed herself to become lost in his love, hands dancing across each other's bodies as articles of clothing were removed one by one. Careful not to displace the ofuda on his chest, Kagome relished in running her hands up and down his naked flesh, mewling underneath him as he repeated the favor, his talented fingers making her body tingle with delight and desire. His right hand slipped between her legs, discovering just how ready she was for him, though he refused to take his pleasure without first delivering hers. Showering her body with kisses, Inuyasha slowly inched his way lower, retracting his hand before settling himself into position. He always preferred pleasuring her in such a way in his hanyou form, but only because he couldn't smell or taste her properly with his dulled human senses. Making Kagome wriggle and shriek was no less exciting.

Pinching her eyes closed and biting her lower lip, Kagome's arms were bent up at the elbows, her fists clutching the pillow at either side of her head as Inuyasha's ministrations had her mind spiraling out of control. Doing the best she could to muffle her cries, she couldn't stop the squeal that bubbled up from her chest as he pushed her over the edge, every nerve in her body singing its praises as she gasped for breath before finally reaching down to gently shove him back, indicating she'd had all she could take.

Smirking, Inuyasha made a show of licking his lips, chuckling at the cute blush that rose on Kagome's cheeks at the sight. Crawling back up the length of her body on her right, his eager excitement was on proud display, pleasuring Kagome always being the only foreplay his body needed to get himself ready to complete the act. As he turned and made a reach for the drawer of his own nightstand, Kagome forced her pleasure-hazed mind back into the here and now.

"Inuyasha…" she called softly, the hanyou closing his eyes for a moment in the simple bliss of hearing his true name fall from her lips. All throughout season, while in the company of others, she referred to him as 'Yoshi-kun'.

"Yeah?" he asked as he turned back to face her, unopened condom in hand.

Kagome reached over and cupped his hand in both of hers, gently taking the square package from his grasp.

"What if…we don't use a condom?" she asked cautiously, unsure what his reaction was going to be.

He blinked at her in shock and confusion for a moment, before quietly clearing his throat.

"But you…you might…" He couldn't finish the sentence, though Kagome knew what he was trying to say.

"Yes, I might. Especially tonight."

His eyes opened wide at that, and he quickly did a little mental countdown, double-checking her monthly cycle. His mouth dropped open.

"You _want _to…" he stated in a shocked whisper, it wasn't a question.

"Only if you do as well."

Closing his mouth and his eyes, he shook his head, not in refusal, but merely in denial.

"But I'm-"

"Human." she interrupted him. "With this on your chest," she poked her finger against the ofuda, "you are human, and any children we conceived would be human as well."

It wasn't that she didn't want to have one-quarter-youkai babies, but Kagome was a realist. Even assuming there was a possibility their kids could look human enough to get by in the world without suspicion, she knew Inuyasha would flat out refuse. He would refuse to take the chance. His youki was _very _strong, and the odds were that any child he sired while in his hanyou form would have at least one or two of his demonic characteristics, despite being three-quarters human. He refused to do that to Kagome, and knowing for a fact how the world viewed '_non_-humans', Kagome refused to do that to her children. If it were up to her she would love nothing more than a litter of pups all with their dad's hair, eyes and ears, but it wasn't up to her. Of course, even being blessed with a human child wasn't really up to her, not fully. If Inuyasha said no she would abide by his wishes. She wouldn't do anything underhanded to get her way without his consent.

"How can you be certain my DNA has really changed?" he asked her then. "I mean, I know you can't sense any youki from me, and the kits all said I smelled and felt human, but we know your ofuda is only suppressing my powers. What if my swimmers turn back to normal once they leave my body?"

"If that were the case, don't you think I would feel it?" she asked him, proud that he had thought of something so smart and pleased that so far, he wasn't necessarily turning down her request. "Yes, as a hanyou, even your sperm is demonic, and I can _definitely _tell the difference. I can feel the residual youki when we discard the condoms. But not when you're human. There is no difference between you as you are now and during the moonless night. Remember when you accidentally cut yourself helping me with dinner that one time?"

Blushing, he grumbled something under his breath about having never used a carving knife before. It had been during the summer, and he had merely been 'practicing' being human in preparation for her busy season. Kagome had been worried about the severity of the cut on his hand and so he'd removed the ofuda to turn back into a hanyou, thus healing his injury. He had commented offhandedly how odd it was to smell his own human blood, since it smelled like him only _not _him, as he'd proceeded to clean up the few drops that had spilled on her countertop during his mishap. Drops of blood that had _stayed _human blood even after he had transformed back into a hanyou. Once bodily fluid created by his human-self left the body, it remained _human _bodily fluid, disconnected from him and unaffected by what the rest of his body did afterwards.

Realizing that Kagome was right, that while in human form he would sire a normal, human baby, it took Inuyasha a few minutes of staring off into space before it finally dawned on him that she was offering him a child. Her child. _His _child. He had never, ever thought that he could possibly become a father. Were they ready? Was _he _ready? True, on the one hand nobody was ever _really _ready for parenthood. It was just one of those things you had to learn by doing. But it was also true that their current financial situation would easily support the extra expenses.

"All right…" he told her then, turning his eyes to meet her gaze head on, a small grin slowly climbing its way up his lips.

Before Kagome could even dare to hope she'd heard him right, his hand was in the middle of her chest, gently pushing her back down into the bedding, the unopened condom still in her hands. Taking it from her grasp, he sat it down on the top of his nightstand before climbing over Kagome's enticing form. Opening her legs in welcome invitation, her smile was contagious as he settled himself on top of her, grinning stupidly. Reaching down to align himself at her entrance, Inuyasha pushed forward slowly, relishing in the sensation of skin on skin contact in such an intimate way. Unlike their first coupling, he wasn't about to explode just from the feeling of being joined with her. Their time together had thoroughly erased the awkward newness of the act, though there was definitely still a newness to be had in actually being one with her directly. He could certainly tell the difference, and biting his lower lip, he kept his movements slower than normal for the first few minutes, just in case.

"Kami…you feel so good…" he whispered, leaning down to gently kiss her lips.

"So do you…" she moaned in reply, rolling her hips upward to draw him in even further.

Gradually increasing his tempo, it wasn't long at all before Inuyasha found a steady rhythm, hooking her right leg over his left shoulder as he held himself over her at a slightly crooked angle. Though his inu side had a certain affinity for taking her from behind, while in his human form he definitely preferred being able to see her face as they made love, as he locked his eyes with hers in that moment, his gaze telling her everything he didn't have words for. Kagome's eyes shown back with a depth of love he had no chance of underestimating. He knew in that moment that he was her everything, as she was his, and while they were giving each other the world, they would also just as gladly give _away _their worlds simply in order to stay with each other. Although the words had never been said, Inuyasha knew in that moment that if he were ever discovered, if he were ever forced to make a run for it, unlike Kikyou, _she _would go with him. Kagome would give up everything to stay with him, and he would give up anything to stay with her, even half of himself. In that moment he equally debated both the prospect of leaving the ofuda on for the rest of his life, of allowing himself to grow old and die along side her, as well as ripping the cursed thing from his flesh and allowing himself to impregnate her with a one-quarter-youkai child, which he knew she really wanted. He wanted to be able to grant her that wish, but not only would it not be wise, it would be downright stupid. Still, he knew that even while in his hanyou form, he would have absolutely no trouble loving a pure human child, and he also knew that with Kagome as their mother, their kids could be made aware of the fact that their father was really a hanyou, and nothing bad would come of it. They would understand that it had to be kept a secret, while at the same time not hating him or themselves because of it. With Kagome as their mother, their children would understand how all life was equally precious, and they would be aware of the prejudices of the world without turning bitter because of it.

The thought of 'Kagome' and 'mother' in the same sentence, especially with himself in the role of 'father', was enough to draw tears of happiness to the hanyou-turned-human's eyes.

Seeing the way his chocolate orbs were shimmering above her, Kagome reached up with a tentative hand, gently wiping at the moisture on his cheek. Her eyes asked him _What's wrong? _Inuyasha's gaze in that moment told her _I love you so badly it hurts_.

Feeling the telltale tingling climb its way through his body, Inuyasha tightened his hold on Kagome's leg, reaching down with his right hand to where they were joined to help her along with her own release. He refused to fall over the edge until she was falling with him. With the added stimulation it didn't take long at all before the miko was shrieking in delight, her inner muscles clamping down around him in a vice grip that felt _so _much better without a layer of latex between them. Immediately, it hit him, as he stilled above her, his left hand tightening on her leg as he turned his head slightly, resting his forehead against her calf as he bit his lower lip to keep from screaming. White-hot passion shot in quick bursts into her loving, waiting body, her fertile womb eagerly accepting the gift he had just given her.

He had no regrets.

It was with a sated grin that Inuyasha slowly pulled himself away from her, allowing her leg to flop down to the mattress below as he collapsed half on top of her, pulling the miko into a fierce embrace. Drifting off to sleep in each other's arms, neither Kagome nor Inuyasha had any worries about the future. They were fully prepared to deal with whatever life threw at them.

_~ Fin ~_


End file.
